Shattered Souls
by draconic skysong
Summary: A world under threat of destruction, A pyrian woman desperately searching for answers to the problems which plague her race, and above it all silver flecked obsidian eyes and a high cruel laughter to haunt even the strongest person's nightmares. co written by me and Moreta.Potter
1. Chapter 1

Shattered Souls  
by: Draconic Skysong and Moreta Potter

A.N: pyrians are a race of bipedal lizard like creatures with various abilities. first played in a MUD called cosmos. but you don't need any knowledge of that mud to read this. we just had fun and thought pyrians would make good creatures to write about.

Chapter 1  
the Celebration of Fertility had just ended, and Anara Golden Designation, Chief of Pyrian Law Enforcement, thought that it had gone awfully well. She was also the coordinator of events on Navu, and it had really taken a lot for her to get events scheduled and everything to go as she and the rest of the Planning Committee had wanted it to. She went to her domicile, which was built directly out of the rock face. It had the best of both worlds for her: an equivalent to the skylights humans were so fond of putting in their own domiciles, and a large rock right underneath for sunning herself. It also had that ever-so convenient hollow log that came from a kameh tree, which she could fold herself into whenever she needed a little solitude. But despite all of this, human accoutrements made themselves known too, like the turquoise sectional sofa and love-seat, which took up opposite corners of the huge room. Also, the place was packed to the gills with technology, and lots of it. A monitor took up half of the wall space, which showed all of the planet Navu, and a control board with sophisticated touch screens was directly under that. there was also the collection of weapons not only from her own world but from others that she took pride in, and kept well-maintained. there was a missile blaster from Anurai, as well as a formidable-looking energy bolt wand from some place or other. tactical Commander Buron Golden Designation was always impressed with her collection, and her knowledge about, and skill in wielding each weapon. Besides all that, the domicile was very complex, having about four main parts to it a couple sleeping chambers and the main area where everyone lived, loved, congregated and ate. And sometimes disagreed. There was one sleeping chamber for her and Buron, and the one for her and Sutar, and then there was the rooms for the nestlings.

Anara was very tall, standing on all fours, and had bright golden scales. She was bald but also had a crown of golden scales. Her medal of rank hung alongside her pouch on her weapons belt, which has a few of her best weapons on it, just in case they were needed.  
Anara checked over her to-do list, and finding that all items had been crossed out, she planned to go for a swim in the pool before she went into a somnulation cycle for the rest of the nocturnal period.  
She had just touched her front forepaws into the water when her communication relay chirped, and Buron's raspy chitter was heard over the overhead loudspeaker. "All personnel, please congregate at the Entertainment square. An emergency has arisen with our people, and the use of force is needed in this instance, and Anara, please bring your best weaponry and have it available on your person."

After the click of the com unit turning off, she only took a second to wonder what was going on, and why there was some kind of incident on the Entertainment square. the Shalka, she thought bitterly. It had to be the Shalka mucking about with Pyrian affairs, but that just didn't fit in since the Pyrian Defense Force had taken out one of their key bases just in the previous sevenday. As she was thinking of the incongruity of this disruption in the natural order of things on Navu, she was loping to the square with the missile blaster, the bolt wand and a Pyrian long-range energy pulse disrupter tucked away in loops in her utility belt. Sutar followed behind, with her own weapons belt bristling with weapons of her own, in holsters of her own design. Anara couldn't have been prepared for the scene that met her eyes.  
She would describe it later as "undoubtedly one of the worst incidents of carnage in Pyrian history. Anara and Sutar were both shocked at the scene before her. The rectangular square was filled with Pyrians in a state she had never seen them in before. they were breathing fire at each other, and fighting with claws and teeth. there were a number of dead Pyrians in the area as it was. she pulled a secret compartment in her utility belt open and lifted out an antenna-shaped device, which was filled with a clear liquid, tranquilizing solution. She sprayed this all over the area with seemingly no effect. All it did was to cause them to become more frenzied. Some of them were Pyrians she had worked with while others were in the education Building for the Intermediately Young. At the same time, Sutar, with a dark expression of face, kept trying to discharge her own bolt wand on stun, which didn't work either. There's something wrong, Sutar thought, Oh sweet Goddess, there was something wrong with this. Buron rushed in behind Anara. That won't work," he said briskly, and aimed the energy disruption device in just the right area to temporarily disable the brains of those in the square.

"Page all medical squads immediately! We need to ascertain what has occurred on these premises" Buron chittered. Anara was already halfway across the Administrative compound where the medical studies department and healing bays were. She had already pathed Valoda Orange Designation with the details of the strange attack and what had been temporarily done to stop it and to discover its cause.  
"Suspicious Attacks Lead to Many Unanswered Questions  
At the seventh revolution on the preceding diurnal period, an event occurred whose cause is unknown: Many Pyrians were seen to be attacking each other. voloda Orange Designation and her medical staff counted at least 30 dead Pyrians and many more injured. She told this reporter that the Pyrians involved had part of their brains disabled temporarily so her staff could receive thought waves of what transpired the preceding evening while they had been subdued. Preliminary studies perceive no motive for the last nocturnal period's bizarre attack, which Voloda called "disturbing on such a large scale." She hopes that autopsies and medical research will unearth the cause of this tragedy so that events of this magnitude will not occur at any time in the future."

Anara turned off the viewscreen which displayed the most recent copy of the Galactic Informer. She only wished she could turn off the disturbing memories of those events. She opened her private com link with Voloda, who confirmed everything the newsgathering agency had said, and more.

"I apologize for not divulging to you the information earlier, but our people need to be informed of the gravity of the events of the previous nocturnal period. From the entirety of what I am able to discover, this was not the fault of any resident on our homeworld, so far as we can determine. My preliminary findings detect a psychoactive virus called Omegachron V. It hasn't been seen on our homeworld for many revolutions. Have your audio sensors encountered that moniker for this psychoactive virus before?"

"they have, only in passing. I have researched that name only to find that no records of this virus exist in the Pyrian science database."

"And do you know why they don't exist in the database? they have been tampered with by a sentient, living being who has somehow gained access to our classified information," said Voloda darkly. , "I have already commed the best of our computer technicians, who can inhibit access to the database until a totally new security scheme can be chosen. Until then, please observe this data-receiving device.

Anara received the small data pad, and looked at the tersely-written commentary on it.  
Name of virus: Omegachron or Omegachron V  
Other names: Tristanizine or, rarely, Theruszine  
Medium of transmission: Airborne or liquid form, usually sprayed in an open area. Amount depends on the number of subjects to be infected.  
Symptoms: Very erratic behavior that does not appear to bee controllable by the subject, unpredictable thought patterns, extreme violence, extreme strength that is not present at any other time, may attack anyone or anything present in the area in which tristanozine is administered.  
warnings: this virus is an experimental virus which should not be administered under any circumstances. It may also result in death after the preliminary stage terminates, and an antidote must be given if a life form has contracted this virus as soon as possible. Extreme care, a brain disruption ray and a decontamination garment are mandatory in this case.  
History: this virus was discovered and perfected by one known as simply Tristanius, who is still a master virologist/bacteriologist, and who engages in high crime and espionage in his spare time. He is also a hired gun for a few radical factions, including the Shalka.

"I perceived it," said Anara, fury filling in every line of her facial features, "I just knew it. It is my apprehension that things as they are now will progress in a very unappealing manner."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Anara remembered little of containing the Pyrians who were still alive, the decontamination of buildings around the square as well as the square itself. Only when the Memorial ritual had been performed for those of their people that were slain did she come out of the shock she felt over this situation. She had been trained and conditioned to believe that danger was potentially a part of life, but danger that was on their home turf, had been, up till then unthinkable. After the Ritual, she went back to the domicile, where her young shared her home with Buron, her mate of fifty orbits, and Sutar her primal bloodmate of thirty of those past fifty orbits

A premonition began to grow in her and she had only seen the finale of this when she reached the nursery. She mentally blacked out in the middle of showing her young a peaceful mind montage to relax them into their somnambulation cycle. It astonished her how she could even do this despite the fact that her respiration still wouldn't decrease to a normal pace. only A Pyrian Mindmorf ritual with Buron made her feel anything like herself. but this fear was in her mind that would not leave But she knew Buron. He was strong and would provide the logistics for a victory against the Shalka...at least she hoped so, but she knew that the Shalka were not only a complete physical match for them, being at one time one with their people and their common goals. I wonder how...she thought sourly. Now they were matched in technology as well. to make things worse for Anara, she had heard of shocking details of what they did to important figures who served the peoples they attacked. She had nearly forgot about these accounts, until now, when it felt like a pictographic monitoring system was transferring these gruesome pictures to her. With only a little more trouble, Anara finally drifted off to sleep, with her and Buron enveloping each other physically mentally and emotionally, with Buron's gentle, but sometimes firm mind trying to guide hers away from the trouble spots. He synchronized her mind with the harmonics of somnulation, a combination of pictographs and ultrasonic waves that triggered a peaceful somnambulation cycle for Pyrians. She finally drifted off to her own somnambulation cycle with both streams of thought and feeling leading to the one place in her mind where those pictures couldn't haunt her.  
Darkness engulfed her...oppressive, clinging darkness that wrapped around her like a mantle. then the vivid scenes of a pitched battle replaced it. then the dream shifted to a terrible scene, Buron Golden Designation, Tactical Commander of the Pyrian Military Agency, being pushed into a dirty, cramped cell by four burly Shalka. the dream's setting changed again, to a golden-scaled head being ripped open-She knew who's it was...and she started running...running.

A picture of two crossed laser fields, their own personal magnopictoform, slammed into her brain like a mental force field, engaging the vivid nightmare/presentiment like a fleet of Pyrian Majesty defense cruisers, shredding its very essence apart until they were forms with no definition. Buron presented a mental picture of a calm deep-blue spring. It was redolent with psychic energy which broadcast calm to her. He at first had begun to pale around the facial area, then a grimly determined set predominated his features, but not before he embraced her and broadcast his all-inclusive, unalloyed, unconditional love for her in a beautiful, yet confusing pictographic display. One picture morphed into another with the speed Anara never believed possible of him.  
His face straightening, Buron chittered, "we must travel to base now. I need to be briefed concerning the most recent happenings so we can prepare for war. The old general's private airfoil is arriving soon. Sutar and him have been busy doing recon for the past week. I am sure you will be happy to see her back safe and sound."

I must be there as well so that I might receive information which we can update our knowledge of the current situation with. We must look into the newest technology which will aid us in battle, for my mind perceives that it comes quicker than what we think."

Pyrian Chronicle, Zulok, diurnal period 13, 1307, revolution 17, unit 45, Pyrian Standard time.  
New information points to the difficulties that the Pyrian Law Enforcement Agency will most certainly experience in apprehending the one known as Tristanius, the scientist and megalomaniac responsible for the engineering of an intensely psychoactive virus that caused the carnage on Navu a sevenday earlier. Intelligence has been obtained by this newsgathering agency that his domicile is highly guarded by pulse disintegration beams and an energy matrix. He is surrounded by guards from the Shalka High Command as well as a Scintilicon."  
Scintilicons were beings composed entirely of energy, Anara knew. They could fire bolts of their essence to fully disintegrate an enemy force, much less a contingent from the Department of Law enforcement. On top of that, the Scintilacons were allied with the Pyrians, so this being must have defected from the homeworld, and broken his alliance with his species by also breaking a pinnacle tenet of the Scintilican Collective Mind: Only do harm to those who have harmed you, or anyone under your guardianship. this particular erstwhile member of his species had done just that, and his presence would make it exceedingly hard to get to the middle of tristanius' security net. then she remembered a key weakness of the Scintilicons, and she hoped it would aid them in the capture and trial, and conviction of the one who had wrought so much havoc on her people. She frowned and put aside the data storage device which updated every revolution, and visited her mental checkpoints to assure the safety of those who were in her family unit.  
Before she knew what had even transpired, she had crumpled to the floor, her mind fastened inexorably on the link to her young. No, they weren't in their recreation area, and their caregiver, Kiara golden Designation, was knocked insensate with a large gash on her dorsal area and another smaller one on her cranium. Before she knew what had transpired, Anara was frantically pathing the Department of Law Enforcement, the Pyrian Military Agency and the medical Department, and especially Buron who had received her slightly garbled request for assistance. she only realized then that she was chittering piteously and couldn't seem to stop, until she felt his warm presence, as he stood near her, offering succor to her, and only then could she compose herself at last.  
A search party had been dispatched a sevenday ago, and still no response had come back from them concerning her young, erona golden Designation, Dunar golden Designation and Donok golden Designation. Anara found herself unable to eat much during those horrible hours, until her advisors made it clear that she must take sustenance.  
News came on the next diurnal period, but it was not conclusive. Her young had been found, at a strange laboratory that, it was theorized, was created by Tristanius and his associates. the Scientific Bureau had much to go through in a short amount of time; consequently, qualified volunteers who were gifted with what could be the knowledge of the proper strategy for action were brought in to glean the necessary details. From preliminary reports, it seemed that Anara's young had been infected with the virus, but had just as easily defeated it. Also, Anara learned that they were to be studied so that the team could isolate the gene responsible for their immunity to Tristanazine in the first place. this had not been done, but as Chief of Sciences Bradus Brown Designation informed Anara at a conference the following diurnal period, "we wouldn't have desired them to have access to that information. this information will speed us on to the creation of an antidote to the virus. May we have your permission, once we have been assured that they have completely shed it, to study their structure to determine what substance is providing your young with immunity to tristanizine? You are assured of being present, and I will inform you of all of the procedures, most of which are non-invasive. You understand why we must do this, for the safety of our people, after the sad events of over a sevenday ago."

"I do understand. It is a requirement that I be present at this appointment, for my young must be assured of my presence and their own personal safety after the ordeal they have just experienced," said Anara Haltingly. the strain was showing in her features, and bradus could tell that these events were taking a toll on her. He only hoped that her young would be with her soon once again and in her expert care.  
"I understand. Have you communicated to them the basic information of what is to occur?"  
"yes," said Anara worriedly, "however, I still feel their fear, but I have reassured them that I will be with them, and that no party shall spirit them away any further. I would have preferred it had another option been present, but as far as I observe, this is the only one which has any validity.'

"I perceive it," Bradus said gravely, "but it will be expedient, I assure you..."

He broke off as an attendant passed him a data pad. He looked at the information on it and glanced at Anara.

"Your young are now present. It has been confirmed by our microbiology laboratory that they have no trace of the virus. You may join them in Examining chamber 4 on the next diurnal period, when they have had rest from their ordeal, since they are rather incoherent now. But you can see them as early as you wish as long as they are awake and mostly alert."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
Tristanius was angry. His whole plan had been foiled. And how? because some of the young of the worms were immune to the virus, through some joke or some freak of nature, which didn't surprise them because the worms were freaks of nature in the first place. he had been told so by War Commander Vorak, who knew everything to know about them.

"They originated from us, and they have not observed our ways. By and by they shall be overthrown, and we shall be victorious," Vorak said one day out of the blue when tristanius was busy collecting samples from pietrie dishes in his sloppily kept lab. "Your assignment is but one of the ways we shall bring them down. But as I informed you on the previous sevenday on the instance you erred in your judgment concerning the correct dosage of the virus to transmit, you can be disposed of, and another sent in your place to do this."

Tristanius had humbly agreed, and applied himself more diligently to the samples he was collecting of the newer and more powerful strain, which was coined ultratristanizine. He had replicated the sample, expanding its quantity, and put it into a more concentrated form, in a more airtight bottle with an attachment that looked to be the cross of a power sprayer and shower head. that ought to hit the worms where they live, he thought, satisfied with himself. He would then receive all the credits necessary to build his own base, taking on a variety of projects which could result in his personal elevation and protection for himself from certain undesirables. Like the Worms, he thought. they didn't look any different from the Shalka unless you counted the fact that the Shalka looked more twisted from the various mutations, mental and otherwise, it had been their choice to take onto themselves. But the shalka had been definite with what they wanted done with the worms. Since his last attempt hadn't done all that it was meant to, and a search party had found the "wormlings" that very morning, Tristanius had been solidly placed on the hot seat, as it were.  
The fact that they had escaped had earned him seven hours of torture until he told Commander Vorak that he was in the process of creating a new strain of Tristanizine which could override root thought processes in the brain that controlled inhibition. When Vorak had asked if any of the inferior reptiloid race would be immune to it, he pointed up the factor which would make it impossible for that to happen. Vorak had been somewhat satisfied with that, but tristanius noticed he was being watched more carefully by the High Command, who, as War Commander Vorak pointed out, Were present for "the express purpose of watching your movements, not just to ensure your safety so that you are free to implement our plan"  
It was that wild look in his eyes and his savage air that gave tristanius the willy-wams and sent the cold sweat running down his back. this amused Vorak, and Tristanius knew it, but hell if he could stifle his response to the towering commander. His compatriots were not any better, and Tristan, after seeing them handle an operative or two from some race or other rather gruesomely had all he could do not to lose his lunch. It was a tight spot he was in, but once he had perfected this new virus, it would be smooth sailing for him. Now just a few more tests with is last sample, and this one would be good, before he made the final killing, which would be a stellar success.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
When Anara Woke up in the domicile, Sutar was not there. She looked all over,even outside, and she was not there. She tried to mentally reach her, but even that proved to no avail. What the hell? Finally she took advantage of the lessons of her teacher in Mechanics of the Mind, Kartog Green Designation, and traced the route of her mate's presence trail. She opened her mind, and let time expand. Closer and closer...yes, there it was. She had gone for a foodbeast..a simple kapok. that was all. She walked the path Sutar had walked to make it easier to find out what had happened. Fuck! There was her translator lying on the ground, and signs of a struggle. Gouge marks and blood on the ground told her that she had been captured. Concentrating the hardest she had ever concentrated in all of her life, she tracked Sutar, because she knew something utterly horrible had transpired. A black cave transposed itself into being in her mind's vision. And Vorak, curse him, had his paws all over Sutar, and flaming her! Goddess curse it, she had to get there before anything else happened, or maybe it already had! Giving her feet wings, she ran to the hanger where her own private fighter was. Sleek and swift, it would make its way to the moon that she knew this cave was on. She had to, for poor Sutar, not only her lifemate, but her bloodmate. Buron, as much as he could be her lifemate, could never be her bloodmate. That wasn't his fault though, Anara knew. He wasn't primal enough to carry out the ceremony they both would if he were to be her bloodmate. "I will not do this to you," Buron had said at that time. "It will cause you intense pain" and he had trashed the roots they both would have needed to consume before the ceremony. The trida bush's roots were eaten before the ceremony to provide mental awareness and stamina, but it had been decided, and it had worked out well for both of them.  
But now, Sutar was in trouble. When she was thinking a little about that, she was firing the fighter's thrusters and launching. Damn the safety procedures now. She overrode them and traveled to the place she knew that moon? planet? station? to be. A signature was there, but Koroku was not there. She mentally dared the thing to show up. Dared it to be there, screaming her challenge to the night, startled to see it show up on her scanner. She cloaked her fighter and teleported to it, overriding mentally its security routines. Fuck Vorak and the Shalka and goddess damn them all! She was going to fetch Sutar out of this hell one way or the other. As hard as it was to do, Anara blended into the shadows, as she was taught. There it was! Her moment! Anara swiftly scuttled out of her hiding place when Vorak and the others had gone to take refreshment. She ran into the cave.

"All this over a foodbeast. a simple foodbeast." . Sutar blinked open her emerald eyes after that thought to see deep black eyes almost like shards of silver flecked obsidian glaring down at her. War commander Vorak bent over her a fanged smirk on his deformed face. It was at that point Sutar realized she was bound her wrists held above her head with a cold black metal that seemed to sink ice into her veins. her eyes flicked down to find her legs splayed and bound with the same sort of cold black metal. and there was something keeping her tail held down as well.

"awake are you my golden beauty? well you'd better stay that way. I've got plans, that I can't have you getting in the way of. so... here you'll stay. with me."

"The Sutar won't be here that long!" she let her jaws part trying to call up her fire, but her eyes widened as nothing came, not even the merest ember of it...

"Something wrong golden one... oh that's right, we can't have you using your fire now."

instead of replying Sutar spat in Vorak's face and those silver flecked obsidian eyes blazed. She couldn't use her fire, but he had his own. and Sutar's body blazed. Sutar clenched her eyes shut this was nothing like her shiny one, her Anara... A slap to her face had her eyes blinking back tears as Vorak leaned over her his lips pressing to hers stealing her gasp of pain. his claws raked over her already blazing body and Sutar felt flames licking over her soft underbelly and she blinked back tears. there was something hard between her legs and Sutar knew what was going on. and she hated it. Hated it with her entire being. closing her eyes Sutar tried to reach Anara but there was nothing. Another slap to her face caused her to whimper as another bruising kiss was pressed to her.

With a grunt Vorak rolled off of her and Sutar spat blood out of her mouth to the tune of Vorak's cruel laughter.  
"Now now pet, we can't have that. turning he pulled a rather wicked looking syringe off a shelf and approached Sutar. She tried to buck to turn away, but he leaned up injecting the vial into her arm any way.

"Just a small experiment. You're mine until I don't need you any more. you should be honored to relieve my tension when ever I have need of you. and to make sure you can perform well. it's just a little mixture of my own creation."

"The Sutar will never willingly serve you, never. when the Sutar's mate finds out about this..."

"aah but General Sutar. You have no choice my golden pet. no choice at all. Don't worry I'll release you. eventually..."

Turning Vorak slammed the door leaving Sutar in pitch black, her body slowly blazing with an internal sexual fire. Closing her eyes she whispered, "Anara. Buran, forgive me... I don't know what I can do, Please be strong for the Sutar...

Blinking awake Sutar glanced around the nightmare was still there Vorak had let her go, only the day before, but the nightmares would stay with her longer. She jumped at the feeling of a soft forepaw caressing her back and she curled into a ball now that she could. The forepaws stopped and Sutar felt someone come around in front of her. blinking back tears Sutar saw the concerned azure eyes of her shiny one, her Anara.

"Shhh snuggly one, you're ok, it's just me... that's all...you're safe..."

Sutar sighed and wrapped herself around Anara letting the sound of her mate's voice calm her. and the two just lay like that for a time. until the sexual tension in her body got the better of her. She didn't know what Vorak gave her, she didn't know why he let her go either, but the more she relaxed the more her body needed the release that sex could give her. and Anara managed to give her what she needed, everything she needed. By Sutar's and Anara's estimation what ever drug Vorak kept dosing her with was easing off. leaning in Sutar pressed a kiss to Anara's lips, trying to make it as tender as she could, though Anara never minded the two of them were often more primal than Anara and Buran were. but that's just how they were. and they left it at that.

Anara was horrified later when she touched the mindlink that Sutar and her shared and reeled back with pain. She collected some herbs that she had learned were good for the advancement of healing and the dissipation of shock. She briefly woke Sutar to dispense these herbs to her in a dark-looking, bitter-tasting tea. She drunk the earthenware mug's contents briefly and thoroughly, pulling a disgusted face. Then she bid Sutar sleep, synchronizing Sutar's mind to the harmonics of somnulation as Buron had, to prevent nightmares, or at least mostly. She Commanded her own mind to alert her if Sutar would happen to have one. After that, she laid down, curling around her protectively, and warding the outside of the domicile to prevent any undesirables heading that way. And she slept the sleep of dead things till she awoke suddenly. Sutar was sitting up, looking ashen-faced. Oh hell. Her mind's overrides didn't work. Looking slightly confused, she looked questioningly at her lifemate.

"It was I who overrode your mind, Anara. You need sleep. I found that you had used your mental capacities for far too long. Yes, I had a nightmare, but I'm fine."

"O no you're not," Anara said, "look at you, pasty-faced, Scales gone that orange color. Get some more sleep, and for goddess sake, quit playing with my mind."

Sutar, after some feeble arguments, laid back down and Anara curled up around her once again. She just couldn't let her go at that moment, couldn't let anything come between them.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Anara woke up that morning, determined to see her young, since the medical assistant had told her it was too late to see them that diurnal period. Anara had done much work the night before, plus all that had happened that night. The tests had been put off till the next day to give Anara time to recuperate. The tests had not taken long, and they did not cause as much wear for Anara's young. She was grateful for that. And I perceive they have been treated better, she thought, as she collected them in preparation to go back to her domicile for the night to net themselves a much-needed somnambulation cycle together.

Something was wrong. He felt it in his mind, but Zaroth Yellow Designation had had no problem in mind mechanics since the day he had started taking it from his sole professor in the craft, Solok Blue Designation. He listened to those words that had been spoken to him many orbits ago. "Always relentlessly do what is the purpose," he had said, "Do what is mentally best for your subject, and don't use your craft for ill. Doing this is no less than what a traitor would do. Focus on your subject's best state of mental being."

He had done so, as much as he could that day, but he kept being unsettled, for something had kept calling him to the entertainment square. Again? he thought? What for? He followed the trail of mental breadcrumbs that were being left and found them...a number of his associates and Pyrians from all over Navu were there. He talked to some and got mental details from others. A great pictographic display would be held there, plus the newest in mental music. But that was not what was there. Suddenly before he knew it, a mist entered his nostrils. This couldn't be the stuff they were talking about in the news, was it? HE didn't feel like it was. But pathing with one of the other Pyrians, a kaleidoscope of alien emotions entered his brain. Who did they think they were? What was the real reason they were all there at this very moment? Did they have something to do with the sporadic attempts on the Queen as of late that were so poor they were easily thwarted? Even so, he suddenly knew most of them were his enemies. Out there to crush the natural order. He didn't even recognize those he had known all of his life in a matter of seconds, it seemed. He growled menacingly at a junior assistant in the Science Department and had him sprawling with a swipe to the side. The junior assistant was stymied, but he got up slowly and breathed a gout of flame at his middle. Then Zaroth breathed his own fire at the junior officer...he didn't know the name of the cursed being standing before him, and neither did he care. He body slammed him to the ground, and from the look of him, he had gone where he belonged. To the pit where all evildoers go. then a disruption ray hit him and blackness encroached on him. He was starting to come to himself, so remorse was also replacing his hate and fear. What had he done. The blackness was coming on stronger, but he didn't fear it. He welcomed it. It covered him like a shroud, and blessed oblivion finally overtook him.

When Anara got home, however, a beacon flashed on the pictographic memorandum system telling her that Buron had been called away on an assignment. Why must he work so hard that they never had any nocturnal periods together as a family unit, she mused. She hoped that he would return soon, and she would now be awake and alert until his return. With the force of a clap of thunder, the images came roaring back to her of the visions in the nightmare she had had a few scant nocturnal periods in the past. through a haze of anguish which she endeavored not to show her young, she nestled them to her and was on the verge of preparing them for a restful somnambulation, when Dunar, perceptive as usual, sent an enquiring thought-form to his mother as to her status. she told them all not to trouble themselves, but to slumber in peace. nothing would change the fact that she was worried for her longtime mate-they had known each other from juveniles- and nothing in their living memory had been as dire as it was now. It only had begun to grow this way when the Shalka had broken the Pyrian Fellowship ten full orbits ago. There had always been the random incident after that, but the real trouble had sprouted up, just recently when tristanizine had come to claim the lives of some of her people.

"Anara, your presence is required in the briefing room. there's been another incident," Queen Vandai's highly agitated chitter broke through the stillness of the somnambulation chamber.

Anara's heart rate quickened, with a thousand thoughts not far behind as to what had occurred, but she left her young in care of Kiara and Sutar until she could return to the domicile.  
"It appears that the virus that was introduced on this occasion was of a different strain. We were lucky this time," said Vandai with a small humorless grin, "This was evidently set for a wide target zone, but the entertainment Square wasn't as crowded as it usually is at this time on the diurnal period," Vandai's face grew somber at this point. "However, we had more deaths, and there are many casualties this instance. there weren't as many casualties on the previous instance of the release of this virus. My hope is that we have enough containment fields which can isolate them until we are able to procure an antidote. I am sending You and Buron, along with about 100 of our best Pyrian guards to secure the area and to ensure the delivery of our people that have been injured to our microbiology unit."

"How do you know that tristanizine was the agent involved in this incident?" Zigor Green Designation, one of the councilors asked.

"Mediscanners have shown its activity in those of our people who were present in the Entertainment Square. And now I must make a decree about the use of those premises now," she said as an aside. "We don't have the complete findings yet," she began again, "but we are taking every precaution, including sealing off the Microbiology Department and installing decontamination rays around the entirety of the Medical Bureau."

Quickly after instructions were given and The Pyrian guards peeled off in the direction of the Entertainment Square, Anara caught up with Buron, and then, they saw the news of a decree from Queen Vandai that the Entertainment Square was being declared indefinitely off-limits  
After exchanging quick greetings, they read the decree in its entirety. they left the Law Enforcement airfoil they had used to reach their destination, and an even grimmer site met their eyes...even grimmer than the very first time they had had an incident that had been caused by tristanizine. this time, there were around 60 of her people that had been brutally slashed and/or burned and others who were still alive,though injured, yet looking around in some confusion. They would be questioned, as everyone involved in the previous incident was, but she knew the outcome would be the same. Why did it have to come down to this once again, she asked herself. It was the same picture all over again, even if they were to be cured. They would all be brought back to their senses and questioned as the last survivors had been, there would be no memory from any of them of what had just transpired.  
there was talk of using the blood of some of them, with their permission, of course, to go about creating an antidote for the virus, and then to piece together what had been done to alter the first strain of tristanizine to make this more deadly variety.

Aldura Blue Designation, one of the security guards who regularly patrolled the Square, related that the virus' onset had happened with a greater speed, and his tests had showed that he was able to successfully destroy the virus in his own system though many of his compatriots weren't. He described the virus's onset as "a more direct assault to what makes us reason. I felt as if those in my vicinity were my enemies, and something in me told me to crush them. However, in what seemed like a couple of ticks, he was in control of his faculties, and tried to bring the Pyrians on the Square to their senses. by this time, Pyrian guards were out in force, and the Department of Law Enforcement had come on the scene as well. the Queen had already been informed when the battle had broken out. Once she had called out a substantial force to deal with the situation. It had just felt as if those on the Square had slipped their bounds completely, Aldura had said, and I was ineffective to intervene to solve the problem at hand. then I was unconscious by the brain wave disruption device, I perceive."  
So there they had it. It was just as Anara feared. However, Aldura and others gave their permission to the scientists to draw a portion of their life essence so that an antidote could be derived from it.  
Anara looked again at the survivors of yet another Tristanizine-caused incident. they were all wearing decontamination garments like herself, and her fear was mirrored in their eyes.  
Over the next few diurnal periods, the scientists reported new developments of their search for an antidote. It seemed at some times that they were further along, then further behind. then the joyous message came one diurnal period which told them that only a few more variables were left to isolate in the production of an antidote. Anara had come home two diurnal periods before overtired, mind numb with all that she had witnessed that night. Buron had been there, all-encompassing and radiating comfort and warmth, but also a great deal of sadness, as she was too, over the loss of a great number of their people. her head was still fuzzy and she didn't understand as much of the scientific jargon as she usually did. It all sounded good, and it was her wish that there could be some hope, even after a situation such as this. Buron and Anara were with their young when they could be there, but the last couple of days had been jammed with activity, including the newsgatherers and their pointed questions. She truly hoped that this nightmare was at an end, but she knew it would also take much time for that to happen.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
Tristanius laughed as he looked at a just-released copy of the Galactic Informer. It was just as he'd hoped. the Worms had all flocked to the entertainment Square, and that's when he'd released his treasure. At least he thought it was.

"You failed," tristanius heard the sardonic, gruff chitter behind him, which, as he, was always amused to recount at parties with his other half-fucked-up friends, "always sounded like it came out the wrong end of a computer."

"But tristanius was angry. How the fuck had he failed. Many more of the worms had died, and now Vorak would pay him handsomely.  
"I had instructed you to disperse the virus into the atmospheric life support system, so the virus would infiltrate the whole living area. But you have once again chose to do what is easy for yourself. I have informed you once before that you are to seek maximum death for the worms. Now, it is maximum death for you, tristanius."

"You know, you are a sick asshole, Commander Vorak," said Tristanius.

"I don't abide your human cursing," said Vorak haughtily as he let loose a gout of flame which hit Tristanius in the chest and sent him squealing like a little child. More hit his back as he went to the Base Landing Pad to find the shuttle he had landed in not more than a month ago. It was time to get out while the getting was good.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
Anara had once again returned to her domicile, but this time, Buron was thankfully home, engaging the young in an intermediate learning exercise. they were doing well for their age, Anara thought. But she was so glad that finally, amid all the horror and confusion, their family unit could at last share one precious nocturnal period together.  
At last, it was time for the young to be relaxed into their somnambulation cycle which took considerably longer nowadays. Since the caretaker had informed both Buron and Anara that they were having intense nightmares, it was necessary to perform an equally intense healing matrix so that they could observe a peaceful somnambulation cycle.

they spent two more diurnal periods which felt enough like normal ones to cause Anara to feel that their people were returning to some state of normalcy, and two blessed, blissful nocturnal periods in which they received all the nurture, rest, and companionship that they normally did. It was at the dawning of the new day, when the Navian suns had risen from behind the snow-capped mountain peaks that an urgent message came for Anara's from the medical and scientific bureaus, telling her that the sample that they had been cultivating into the antidote had been stolen. the lock had been compromised, and Anara saw it too...pieces of it were on the floor with laser scorches on them, and the refrigeration unit for the organic component had been tampered with, and the door to that was open. New security schemes and locking devices had to be obtained for the storage units, but the question on Anara's mind was Who, why and how.

the who she could already answer, she thought bitterly. At least she felt that it was Tristanius and his crew at work. Later that day, Pyrian intelligence had confirmed that tristanius was on the loose and on the move. It was rumored that he had a mobile laboratory, and he was using his shuttle for any lab work that had to be done as soon as possible. Others said that this could not be true, and still others said that he couldn't be on the loose, because those outlaws and radical factions that he chose to work for would need his services..  
the pace sped up again as efforts were made to try to find tristanius's current whereabouts, but Intelligence came back with no answers and no leads on the location of the antidote. Meanwhile a second vial was being prepared, she learned, but it would take time for the virus to germinate and the antidote to mature. the diurnal periods had become long and busy again, and in some cases, more fruitless for her and her department as the science department tried to perfect another antidote vial. the only thing that gave them all a measure of satisfaction was that the first vial had been secured under a virtually unbreakable code.

It was on an unusually stormy day, when rain threatened and lightning forked intermittently through the Navian sky when an intruder was heard to speak over Pyrian coms channels. "If you desire your precious antidote, I desire to parlay with one Buron. I have the antidote, but your hope in the succor of your people rests in whether or not he will give himself over to me. It was by his device that my plans have been foiled, but I will return to continue your own defeat when my resources have been replenished. It is up to you whether your people shall be healed from this virus that has been loosed."

"Shalka," said Buron tersely, putting a protective forearm around Anara and her young. "I must call out the unseen Fleet."

"I regret to inform you that the time I have for this little game is not limitless. I will know in one of your diurnal periods. If you, Buron, have not come to meet with me on my own terms, your people will die, as this virus is contagious. War commander Vorak out."

Anara could detect the chill in the rough chitter that emanated from the com unit, which, thankfully, in this area, didn't have visual. Her eyes were filled with anguish as she turned to Buron, but also with a fiery purpose.  
"Do not concern yourself," said Buron, "We shall implement a plan to keep war Commander Vorak distracted. I believe he is speaking out of disgust that he lost tristanius, and cannot seem to apprehend him. My sources tell me that he has been staying on the move in unclaimed space as much as possible."  
At that moment, Buron looked into her eyes, and it was that dizzying quality of his own at that moment that took her breath away. Their backs were finally up against the wall. Buron, being one of the best pilots in the system, always told new pilots that it was a bad idea to let themselves get boxed if they could prevent it. Now this time, Buron himself was boxed. this was the terrible irony, and their people must have the antidote, but the Shalka were in possession of it.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8  
the clock was ticking on the threat that War Commander Vorak had given over coms that morning when Anara's Criminal Apprehension team forced Tristan's shuttle down on an atmospherically friendly but unpopulated planet in the same system as Navu. What in the great inferno he had been doing there was anybody's guess. Anara and her people seized the shuttle, and docked it to the Cruiser they were using to do reconnaissance and find out where Tristan was hiding out. the fear she was feeling, though hidden during the cuffing and pretrial interrogation of Tristan was a bitter undercurrent. She did not want Buron to leave when she was gone, for she had the feeling that she would not see him again. Even though she chided and schooled her mind to forget this possibility and to drive it out of herself, it would not leave, just like the hideous presentiment that kept haunting her days and being the anathema to any decent somnambulation while Buron was away. It just couldn't be that way, she told herself.

"Were you aware of whose services you had employed when you started the creation of this virus?" she questioned Tristanius over and over again.

As he kept denying it, she realized that the only way she was going to be able to get the truth from him was to use her own unique gift. Anara could produce a different kind of fire than any other Pyrian. this fire was used only occasionally, in cases where the truth had to be gotten immediately. It did not burn the subjects themselves, but it singed their auras enough to determine whether the truth was being imparted to the questioner, whether it was her or one of her teammates. When it was determined that his confabulations would not come to a halt, she let loose a small tongue of her own special azure fire, which pierced his aura immediately. she found out indeed that her suspicions were correct. He had already shown all the signs she had needed to see that he was attempting to deceive her. He had indeed been working for the Shalka to custom tailor a virus that would cause as many Pyrians as possible maximum death, but after failing War Commander Vorak, he was forced to flee and attempt to set up a base in some other location.  
She was just about to explain that she had discovered his activities, when her personal com unit pinged and lit up, showing her a message that Buron wanted to see her immediately.  
After she told Tristan about what she knew, he tried to deny it, but Anara had already shoved him into a featureless, inescapable cell, and locked the door with a device tuned to repel his energy signature to block any attempt of his to escape. She was not sure where Buron wanted to meet her, but her feet automatically carried her to the domicile, as if she didn't even need to tell them where to go.

"Please stay with our young. I must see about getting the antidote. and discover a way that I can outwit Vorak. I think he must be perturbed about how I have been spying on his people's movements lately..." there was a small uncomfortable silence, and it was then that Anara noticed that his color was bad. the rich golden color of his scales had given way to a dull, burnt-looking orange. It was then that she could not hide it any longer. but before she could say anything, he finished gravely, "we shall meet again. I don't know how or where, however."

For the last time, it seemed, Buron engulfed her in his love, mentally and physically, clasping her to him and trying to impart some comfort. they didn't want to say what was on both of their minds, but before either of them could attempt to, Buron had dropped back to all fours and stood up. "I must be going. Please know that I am always present with you," he said, and then the door closed, hiding him from her view. Her heart was breaking, but her department must complete one more search of the shuttle to content themselves that the antidote wasn't hidden somewhere in the small vehicle. She had a feeling that it wasn't, or worse, that it was, and Buron was going on a fool's errand.

She told the rest of the department of what had transpired, and the vice head of Law-Enforcement, volok Bright Orange Designation, explained that the Pyrian Royal Fleet had already fanned out in the system and surrounding areas to find war commander Vorak's base of operations, so far with no luck. Anara resolved to keep the mental link with Buron to ascertain, and hopefully ensure his safety. She hoped that she would have enough time to act when the situation became dangerous. She wanted to be with the fleet, but she had other functions to perform that day. A part of her mind stayed with those functions until two hours later, when she saw, in the part of her mind that contained Buron's link, his small fighter touched down on a remote moon on the very outskirts of the neighboring system. Her people knew it as Koroku, which in the Pyrian tongue roughly translated to bitter, but more accurately meant desolate. And it was too, with hardly any plant or animal life it would support. With it being such a hostile moon, no one that she could recall had ever ventured there. But Buron was there now...

It became even harder to concentrate, so Anara excused herself to go home to attend to her young. the caretaker was surprised (after all, it was rare that Anara ever left off carrying out her duties early), but her color must have been bad, because even she sent Anara comfort and empathy through their own mind-link.

When she passed the stream that she and her young regularly drank from, she knew for sure that her color did look bad. Her scales had almost the same burnt-orange hue. Without warning, a mental bolt of pain slammed her into the bank, knocking her into the water without her even realizing what had happened. the caretaker, and Dunar both, as well as one of the attendants to Queen Vandai who was passing by had to pull her out of the stream, and on further examination, they discovered that whatever mental force had hit her in this way had made her unconscious with the pain. the advisor pathed frantically to the queen, who called in one of her best telepathic physicians, who introduced himself as Karok Midnight Blue Designation. He touched his forehead to hers, and reeled back as if stung.

"She's seeing something that's occurring at this present moment which is causing her great mental anguish. I will need to slow down her mental faculties so I can try to bring her out of this state. Considering what has happened this morning, I shall also need to view with her what is transpiring so that we can take appropriate action on her and Buron's behalf." As he was saying this, he drew a syringe out of his medical kit and filled it with a bright amber fluid. "this is the next most powerful dose of ultrazynium available. I have calibrated its release so that it will not cause her to come out of her unconsciousness too quickly. I am afraid this means she will not be able to act to save him from what I fear may be his fatal destiny." At this time, he looked troubled, and described a battle in which Buron was fighting courageously against a foe in a dark cavern, lit only by the luminous plant life that grew in it. "I could see that he was already grievously injured, and fighting to stay on his feet. It is my hope that our queen's royal fleet can find out where this War commander Vorak's base is so that they might use their combined might against him and his people.

Though he looked as if he would flame Vorak if given the chance, he noticed that Anara was starting to come around and smiled grimly, but it was only a thin expression which made everyone aware that this would not be a calm awakening for her..

She woke up in a flourish, and everyone had to stand back because, immediately gouts of fire spouted from her open mouth. then she took one look around at her surroundings, and quelling the abortive flames as they spewed out, she said, "I apologize to all of you for this. I am not in control of my mental faculties." Just as quickly she was unconscious again.

Sutar stepped up and pulled Anara's unconscious form into her lap, her own emerald eyes glossing over trying to give both Anara and Buran her own strength as well. Buran and her were sort of siblings through their love for Anara. Closing her eyes Sutar felt herself fall into a sort of trance allowing her to view the same that her blood mate was.

"It appears as if she is trying to proffer Buron mental aid in this state," Karok said after he forced himself to endure the mental feed that was flowing through Anara's own mind. After favoring his head, he only said with pain carved into his expression, "It won't be long now. the end is coming for him."

they tried to make Anara as comfortable as possible, but it wasn't easy considering that this latest episode was complicated with her thrashing around as if part of her mind comprehended that she was unable to offer any succor to her mate. Most of her mind, Karok knew, was not with the doctor and the caretaker of their young: it was with Buron and the awful events playing out right at this very moment.

"I will remain in this area," he said, slumping down on the floor finally under the mental strain of everything he had seen. "I will attempt to render aid where I can. I must try to forget all I have witnessed," he said, with sudden fire in his eyes, "but not anything that will prevent any of the Shalka, including Vorak, from being recognized as culpable for the execution of these events. I am now direct-pathing these events to the queen. I am afraid that Tival 7 is a cloaked moon, so it is my hope that his base of operations is not present there."

the thrashing and intermittent flaming had ceased, but it was followed by a drawn-out, piercing scream from Anara which seemed to convey boundless sadness and misery. Karok, though looking grayish around the temple, and obviously mentally taxed loped over and briefly put his head to Anara's. this time, the contact was longer, and the graying seemed to expand around his muzzle and head area as the thought probing continued.

"She's gone," said the physician. "at least I can't reach her. I am loathe to divulge anything that I do not know for certain, so as difficult as this is, I must ask you to wait in the adjoining waiting room. I will respond as expediently as I am able..." He drifted off then, as the caretaker went to the other room, where Dunar had taken his siblings earlier. Sutar however refused to move, her scales no longer shining. "The Sutar will stay, when the Sutar's mate comes back, she'll need someone who she knows well to help."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9  
It had only taken the tactical commander a short time to ascertain where Vorak's com signal had come from, so there was only one alternative, he thought as he undocked the smallest and most expendable fighter and proceeded with his routine check of components. Even on one of these miniature ships, the components were built to stand up to anything: Hull, sensors, computer systems and engines were predictably in good shape. In fact, the damage report had reflected that everything was in good working order, which was fortunate, in case he needed to engage the Shalka. this fighter had been outfitted with shields of his own design, and most importantly, an extra strength long-range laser that was up-to-the-minute technology that had just been released from the weapons department with a site that focused immediately on enemy ships. He might be able to have an edge over Commander Vorak, at least he hoped. But he didn't want to pin his hopes on him calling on a few of his fleet to aid him. No, he needed to be prepared for anything, and that's why he had the energy saber. this as well was a new advance from the weapons systems, and was a testament of the knowledge and wisdom of the head of department of the Pyrian military, Tolar Red Designation. Buron had worked with him long before tolar had become head of department, but it was plain to observe from his actions at critical points that he was made for the position. At this time, he hoped that the antidote could be found so that he could scuttle out of this hellpit and end up unscathed, but even he knew that his luck might have run out on that score. How he wished that it would happen that way, and he would attempt to make it so. It was important for him, for his people, for Anara, their young...  
All too soon, he pinpointed the tiny moon's location, but he didn't see it, and then suddenly, it loomed large on his scanner, even though it comprised one-fourth if that of their homeworld. It was dark, forbidding, and barren. The landing pad was just a bare, open space of land with some kind of natural cavern or some such structure in the background. the science division wasn't aware of this moon's existence, so how could it have just appeared out of nowhere?  
Suddenly, with the force of a meteor's impact, his fighter impacted with a projectile, and was in a nose dive for the moon's surface. A quick examination of his controls revealed that all systems were offline, except the backup life-support systems. He was thankful at least that he hadn't forgotten to don a hostile environment protection garment before he set out in the event that those systems gave way too. Suddenly and predictably, the rough chitter came out of his com unit. Vorak, Buron thought dourly, He knew it. Wouldn't even give him a chance to fight back, wouldn't even give him a chance to possibly perform he unthinkable action of defeating him. He tried to use at least the bare minimum of thrusters to slow the free fall that was now occurring. However, it stopped before the thrusters were able to completely activate and the fighter set down in one of the most barren areas of the moon, near some kind of cavern. without any warning, the door was forced open with a jarring noise, and war Commander Vorak insinuated himself into the space, saying "so you have come today, for a visit I think..." he said this in a mocking voice. "but I desire it for you to come willingly, therefore I will use no method to restrain you. You do wish for me to disclose to you the location of the antidote, do you?"  
Buron said, "yes I do desire it, but I perceive that there is to be some kind of catch. You'll want me to perform some egregious task for you for the purpose of betraying my own people. I refuse utterly."  
"Silence!" thundered Vorak, "You only have a debt which you owe that must be paid in full this day. You accrued this debt when you chose to covertly perform surveillance on my people when the first strain of tristanizine was released, and when I was perfecting...well...other things, but I assure you, we did not initiate the spread of this virus into any venue that your people currently make use of."  
"I have gotten intelligence from our law-enforcement division that you are a shining example for your people, that is, you once again, on this day have perverted the truth to suit your own means," said Buron, but before he finished the last word, a gout of flame from war commander Vorak had hit his face.  
"I will not tolerate being insulted in this manner," said Vorak, "for I have some mysteries to divulge concerning the government of your own people," He looked triumphant at this point. "You see, some of us have insinuated ourselves into your government's substructure...Ah," he pretended to think carefully at this point, "I don't surmise that you will be alive after this minuscule discussion of ours, so I will impart to you a little information. It is our hope that, very soon after this sevenday concludes, your precious queen will be terminated. It helps to have interlopers from our High Command who are willing to make it so. Also, you might want to know that your mate is also due to stand her own trial before she attempts to be a witness in the trial of anyone else. However, I will not disclose to you how, but there will not be a single soul who will watch over and guarantee the safety of your young."  
the words were barely out of Vorak's mouth when Buron leaped upon him. this had apparently been the last straw. Before he could pin the heavier Shalka down completely, Vorak was able to get up and out from under Buron's weight. One of Buron's front paws had left deep gouge marks on his chest which left Vorak bleeding copiously there. The latter then rejoined with flames which connected and burned Buron's own torso. The fighting was matched pretty evenly for a long time, and then for awhile, it seemed that Buron could defeat the shalka commander at last. But with a terrible swipe and head butt to the stomach he was down again, and was half-carried, half-dragged to a filthy, grimy cell which seemed to be cut out of the cavern. there was still the weak glow of luminescent plant life as he'd seen earlier, but its featureless rock walls only served to underly the hopelessness of the situation he was in. He so wished that Anara would understand that this was the only way it should be, or war Commander Vorak and company would make their way all the way down the ranks till he had disposed of every one of their people, and this definitely wasn't the way events were to flow. He could not tell her now, but he had dispatched a holographic message over private channels, telling Volok that it was to be delivered to her at her earliest convenience. He hoped it would be soon enough. . After trying all possible features that could be exits, he only came up against the force field with a shock of pain. After pacing back and forth across the cell a number of times, he tried the energy saber with no effect. He tried a couple of other methods he had learned to break force fields, to no avail.  
the sky was dark, and as soon as he noticed this, he noticed that the force field was getting darker as well. "I have finally decided what action I will perform concerning your personage," Vorak's sinister form at last darkened the doorway behind the force field that prevented Buron's escape. "I bear no good tidings for you, but I will obtain all of your knowledge for my own. And you, betrayer of the collective that you are, will aid me immensely." A twisted expression of mad glee suffused his countenance, and Buron only then could see the column of guards behind him. He knew this could only mean one thing: the ceremony of revealing, which was one of their own, perverted by the Shalka and carried out in more diabolical extreme. Nooooo! he screamed silently, they can't do this to me! but they would, and he knew it all along, knew it when they had left him alone in that filthy cell for a revolution or more. He thought of the good times that he had shared with Anara, and even those instances they had gone through situations they didn't think they would come out of, but they had. this wasn't one of those, unless those Majesty Defense cruisers that were deployed which were looking for Tristanius could find him. Please let the cloaking on this awful moon fail!  
Vorak must have seen a flicker of hope in Buron's expression, for he said, "this moon's cloaking device will not fail. I have made it even more reliable than it was when I first discovered it. It's power source is now set to tap from the sun, therefore it will only deplete when the sun dies. Nobody will discover your whereabouts."  
So it was decided, with no possibility of reprieve, Buron thought sourly. He was once again dragged out of the cell, but to a different place..some kind of clearing inside the cave with its luminescent plant life with what looked like a rough platform in the center. It was then that tactical commander Buron fought his hardest to be free, and hopefully find some way to see where the antidote was secreted. But it was not to be so. After he had singed a healthy chunk in Commander Vorak's shoulder, he was ambushed by at least seven of the guards who pinned him down, with no way for escape. then he was hit with an immobilization pulse, leaving him paralyzed, and Vorak or one of the bastards had sunk teeth into the artery at the base of his neck. Vorak stood over him, and as his vision was fading to the size of a pinhead, an unholy scream left him which he didn't recognize as his own. He felt his soul being inexorably ripped from him, but with a presence of mind he didn't think he had at that moment, he screamed out in his mind, No, dammit, no! He will not have my soul too, and he knew no more, The last thought that crossed his mind being the antidote, and Anara, and a jumble of other thoughts that pervaded him.

Vorak looked contemptuously down at the body of his victim, realizing that it had all gone according to plan. Every bit of it. He did not expect Buron to come at all, but even so, he had, and that would be one more step towards victory.  
Buron had been an immeasurable amount of trouble to him however. He leaped upon him, extracted and ate his heart, and proceeded to do the same thing with the brain. this he shared with the guards standing around him, who had been watching him ruminate over the one he had conquered, which was not a thing that war Commander Vorak had done often. they didn't care. He  
would be one more in a means to an end.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10  
Anara had recovered, though very slowly and painfully. She was only marginally aware of her surroundings after that, and her color had never really returned to normal. Voloda noticed that the orange had gotten a little brighter, but it only had stayed at a slightly burnt hue. Her mental activity was staggered and didn't display patterns in normal parameters, but voloda expected this. Stabilizers would not work in her condition, which Voloda had deemed near mental breakdown. She also noticed that Anara's heart was showing strange activity, and she made a mental note to keep monitoring that for as long as it was worrisome.  
It became known to everybody that the trial of tristanius was set to commence in the next diurnal period. Anara was not allowed to be present, but was given the option to monitor proceedings telepathically as long as she herself was monitored by medical staff at all times through the trial.  
"I was instructed to give this message to you," said a green-scaled messenger, giving her a data-pad. Anara expected the usual reports on movements of Majesty defense cruisers and the like, but when she looked at the inscription on the data pad she now held, she nearly collapsed. It was Buron's own personal magnopictoform, two lightning bolts crossed with an energy field. Below it was a message:  
"If I have not returned, I apologize for my unfortunate demise. I really wish that I was able to return and take up again the responsibilities of serving you, our young, and our people. I do not know where the custodians of life shall take me. I am not assured that I will return on our home planet, but I will make communication with you someday, when you are able to recover from this. I was afraid that I would not return from this errand. I know you are desirous to know why I undertook this errand. I fear that war commander Vorak would have disposed of all of our people until he would have found me and done the same. I did not wish for this to be my only option, but I perceived that it was so. I wish you good life, good health and prosperity, and I will attempt to reach you in some form, hopefully soon. I must go, but remember that my love is always with you and with our young. Please don't grieve for my passing, although I know that you will, and carry on the noble responsibility that we have been trusted with in serving our people."  
His face looked out from the holographic message, and she strengthened her resolve. She had to witness the trial of this tristanius, and carry out her duties. to this end, Anara schooled her mind from somewhere in the core of her very being that she needed to be awake and alert. that was the key. She had been informed by Voloda that the trial was going to begin any time in the next six revolutions. But she could not remove the horrible images from her mind, no matter how she tried. she was only a thread-width from falling back into that horrible abyss that she had fallen into at the moment of Buron's death. Behind the foreboding backdrop of these images, she was able to perceive what was occurring with the trial. She had also been informed that the antidote had been found, in a compartment near the engines of Tristan's shuttle, safe and untampered with because the worthless wretch couldn't compromise the security code on it. And war Commander Vorak had never had the antidote in the first place.  
"Are you aware that war Commander Vorak had planned to capture Commander Buron and terminate him based on some information he had concerning his activities?" the questioner, whom she recognized as Midor Amethyst Designation, asked.  
"I was not," said Tristan complacently, boldly lying, Anara thought, to save his own skin.  
"Are you aware that he would communicate over coms that he had the antidote?" the questioner's grating, but even chitter interrogated Tristanius after he'd spoke his thousandth lie of the trial, Anara guessed.  
"I had no idea he would say that," Tristan said, with hardly no expression except the slightly scornful one he let cross his visage, "I hid it to keep anybody else from finding it until I could get someone to breach the code."  
"Fabrications," the translation device boomed as Midor's chitter rose in volume and menace. then looking away from the filth he had questioned, and to the spectators gathered around in the circular building where the trial was held, and then to the keeper of justice, he said, "I must call for a recess until I can procure some aid in discovering the truth behind the lies that are Tristanius's statements in this court."

the keeper of justice smiled a thinly veiled, but dangerous smile and said, "this court believes he is lying, and you are granted a recess of half of one revolution while you procure this aid." He called the questioner over. "If you have in mind calling the one that possesses azure fire that reveals liars, I am afraid that her condition is still such that her using this talent might damage her even more. I believe, however, that it is essential that she be called forth. Keep this in mind."  
"I agree, but I have," said the questioner, "received valuable information from our medical staff that says that she is coming around enough to render her own special fire, and she can then vacate and retire to the healing platform after this once again. My heart feels for her, for her and Buron were very strongly bonded."

"I perceive this as well, and it may take many lunar cycles to bring her status to the point it was before this tragic event. Now go," he said, flicking a look at the questioner.  
After a quarter of a revolution had passed, Anara was brought to the front of the amphitheater by Valoda, who was in a position to support her should she need it. gasps and troubled chitters followed her as the rest of the council and the onlookers saw how bad her color still was.  
"I believe that recess was not to be over at this time," said the keeper of justice quickly, "but I feel we must recommence with the trial so that our next witness can return to the healing platform. If you would do the honors, Anara."

Sutar stepped out of the crowd and glared at the onlookers, "Are you all fools, the Sutar has to ask herself. Look at her. You can't possibly make Anara do this! Something is wrong here, more wrong than it should be..."

glancing towards her blood mate Anara gently touched Sutar's cheek. Blinking sad azure eyes Anara turned away and Sutar nodded, knowing Anara really had no choice. but Sutar stayed behind her shiny one, giving her all the mental and emotional support she could, totally unaware of the midnight blue scaled glare behind her.

"Anara concentrated her will, collected her essence, even though it took all of herself to do it. After what felt like an eternity, the azure tongue of fire shot out and pierced tristanius's aura, and onlookers would recount later how it was even brighter and more livid with her own anger. Tristanius blanched for a moment as the truth was being inexorably ripped from him by the force of it. then Anara began to recount the real answers to his questions. the translation device rendered her words a quality of eeriness as she began:  
"The scientist we have questioned today has been going under an assumed name. His name is not Tristanius but Therus Cavona, the infamous mercenary and scientist who has been working with the Shalka almost from the beginning. He knows a significant quantity of information about the antidote. He conspired to take it from the laboratory and secrete it in a location that we could not at first find. He also was privy to the information that Vorak would mount an attack against Buron. He also knew," Anara's color began to worsen again and her haunted expression became more apparent here, "that Vorak would pervert our own ceremony of revealing, that we carried from generation to generation. Vorak consumed the brain and heart of Buron so that he might obtain more knowledge of his movements and future plans. Therus Cavona also is culpable in the production of both strains of the virus, as well as its distribution."  
With no warning at all, Anara collapsed. Valoda was already there, taking readings and trying to rouse her patient. After a brief time, she stood up to her full height and addressed the crowd, which was in a mild state of confusion.  
"She is gone at this time to the afterlife," said Voloda,her own coloring darkening to an unhealthy bronzish hue, "She expired due to a broken heart. However, she was valiant in imparting the information that implicated the one we now know as therus Cavona in the execution of these events. I am sorry. I am helpless to affect this." She then called for her attendants, who bore Anara's body to a place where they could prepare it for burial.

A furious hiss came from the crowd and a blast of golden flame flew towards Tristan as Sutar, her eyes blazing with emerald fire stepped forward. Several pyrian guards tackled her only to be called off by a sharp command as Queen Vandai entered the chamber her own eyes blazing.

"She has every right...

Turning to Sutar Vandai offered her a paw up and spoke softly to her,

"Your shiny one will be avenged, but give me time general. right now, Voloda needs your help..."

bowing her head Sutar stepped back and exited the room.

two diurnal periods had come and gone, and tristanius was safely dead. the sentence had been carried out on the day of Anara's death. Inhabitants of neighboring worlds who had heard of the events which had transpired had arrived under the auspices of the queen and her advisors. the interment ceremony had commenced, and she had been buried in the mounds with the other venerated Pyrians.

Glancing around at the crowd, both Sutar and Voloda along with Anara's young bore Anara's body between them into a stone casket made of fire blasted obsidian. even in death Anara's scales weren't their bright gold they were still a dull orange. Placing her body in the casket the group took their turns paying their last respects Voloda and Anara's nestlings stepped back and Sutar spent what felt like an eternity gazing down at the woman she had loved for so long, who had saved her from Vorak's clutches a small tear fell from her and landed over Anara's heart and before she could lean down and brush it away, she felt a faint warmth caress her, and an even fainter scent that was strictly Anara.

"Some day shiny one. some day we'll meet again... take care of our family..."

backing up Sutar closed the lid of the casket and both Voloda and her carefully lowered it into the internment mound before backing away tears falling down both their faces.

It was now dark, and the crowd had migrated to the reopened entertainment square for the life cycle celebration after everyone was informed by the science department that a vaccine had been created for Theruszine, or as it was referred to in his notes the Omegachron virus.  
Everyone who had been affected by that virus was in the process of being given the antidote and vaccinated. A somber mood still hung over the square, and many only stayed for a short time  
"we will all miss their presence," said the Queen, whose speech was being translated into many other languages, "but we will remember the contributions they made in bringing the ghastly horror of Omegachron Virus to its termination."


	11. Chapter 11

Part 2  
The reckoning

Chapter 1  
Queen Vandai Golden Designation was in her living chamber discussing what to do next with Karok and a couple of her other advisors when her own com unit chimed softly. Who the hell was it now. She wasn't exactly ready for this meeting, but it needed to be done now, before the threats that Vorak communicated to Buron at the time one or two of them had remotely viewed the events leading up to the latter's death could be carried out. Queen Vandai was damned if she was going to sit back and let the Shalka mess up the world that, through centuries filled with more trials than most nations had in their existence, been carved out slowly but surely and given more power. It wasn't their fault that one faction had broken off from the whole and betrayed them, trying to take unwilling subjects with them, she knew. Unwilling subjects like Lyra, Anara's firstborn. Nobody knew about the events surrounding that ugly business but she did. It had only happened a couple orbits after the Shalka had come into existence as their mortal enemy. It had been Vorak once again, as it had been This time. Anger surged through her being as she remembered what had happened that day and how disaster, unlike what had happened recently, had been averted in time. It seemed like it had taken four of her mind specialists to root out where the drug did most of its damage. Since her mind was like a tabula rasa, waiting for new commands from some heretofore unknown source, not having any wishes of its own, they had one hell of a problem trying to find an antidote to the drug. At this point, the only thing they could do was find the source that she was to receive commands from and block it directly by venturing into her mind. The other thing it was important to do was give her a complete detox and subconscious dump, and to give her their own commands. once the drug was removed. Then, it was believed, she would remember everything and be back to her acerbic, crazy self. It had actually taken some time to execute all this, and some steps hadn't exactly gone as they wished, considering that Lyra had nearly died in the process due to some nasty blocks the Shalka had set up in her mind. That had been prevented the next time they had to inject her with the opposite of the drug, which was synthesized using the scant knowledge some of the team had of it, and had been stored with care and labeled with a pictoform of a hook and scythe and the Pyrian pictographic representation of the mind.  
Almost before she knew she'd done so, she answered her chime and, recognizing the accompanying pictoform, accepted Valoda Orange Designation into her chamber. Voloda, being Anara's nest-sister, had taken the events of the last diurnal cycles harder than she would let on. Her stance was strong, but her scales bore that telltale tint of bronze signifying that things weren't as they should be.

"There's something wrong with some results I just received," Valoda went on gravely. "On a hunch, before the memorial service not knowing why, I took key tissues from Anara for analysis. I entered my office in the beginning of the diurnal cycle to check the results of the tests I performed. The tissues are discolored, which means that she was drugged.

Vandai joined Valoda in her small office The latter took down what looked like a small display case bearing a containment field on the inside. She also pulled from her racks and racks of substances a vial of clear yet bubbling liquid. Indicating this, she said, "this is ichthizine. I poured some on the small bits of tissue." She put the small vial back. "This is what happened a couple days later when I looked at the results of the test."

"so what else did you find out?" Vandai pressed.

"With the ichtizine, the tissue normally wouldn't have discolored and mottled in this manner in a containment field like this unless there was a foreign component there." Voloda replaced the containment display and retrieved another one. "this also had ichthizine poured on it but you cannot see any of the differences you saw with the other one, Not even the mottling has occurred with this sample. Voloda indicated a screen on the outside of the containment field's display. It showed a breakdown of everything that was in the tissues just like the other portable containment field. She put the other portable containment field back and retrieved the one she showed Voloda first. Pointing to the pictograph showing breakdown of substances with a forepaw, she said, "This" is something that has only been around for the last orbit or two. They call it Death by Empathy or Dyo but it's common name is the scourge."

Vandai blanched, for she had heard of that name. But with  
everything in such an uproar, they had no chance in hell of discovering the underlying reasons for what was going on...Not just the business with Tristanizine and the trial of the bastard that had helped to create it, but also the fact that War Commander Vorak had wanted to meet with Buron Golden Designation, the late tactical commander of the Pyrian military. Everything that had happened that day had made everyone in the government take a closer look at everyone else, and now this. She knew something had been wrong with Anara's death, but the Scourge? Only the Shalka used the Scourge in instances...when they wanted someone neutralized...of course.

Suddenly growing businesslike, Queen Vandai rose to her full and considerable height and said vehemently, "I want you to check everything that was consumed on the day that Anara and Buron died. I want you to check even the stream they drank from, even the caretaker of their young at the time. I will not rest or somnambulate until this matter is put to rest and good. We will make sure that their deaths were not in vain. Where's Drenog Green Designation? He is the only one I know with information on The Scourge."

Drenog and probably only a couple others were the only ones that knew a thing about the drug that was called the Scourge in colloquial terms. Voloda didn't know the green-scaled scientist too well, because he was on projects on the fringes of the Pyrian homeworld and on other planets, but Queen Vandai was no slouch in the judgment department.

"We want to obtain more knowledge about The Scourge, as it is known in some circles. What knowledge do you have concerning this drug?"

"Why do you wish to question me concerning this?" Drenog became more agitated, swishing his tail back and forth over the wooden floor.

"Because," said Queen Vandai, "From the evidence that has been gathered by Anara's nest-sister, it may have had a part to play in Anara's death. we wish to question you concerning some of the symptoms of the drug and the way it is administered, among other things."

Drenog's composure grew less agitated at that point and he said, "I was put to work with creating the second vial of antidote when this was occurring... but I do have knowledge about the Scourge. When Buron Golden Designation was doing reconnaissance work, he found information pertaining to it six lunar cycles ago. He told me and two other scientists to keep the information that he learned and the samples he got undercover and to learn all we could in the meantime so as to find its opposite. We had gotten close to finding it when the Tristanizine outbreak happened. We do know that it is packaged in a very thin tube in a concentrated form. One sniff of the drug is all that is required, or it can be used in combination with others." Drenog's tail was moving faster and faster as he chittered agitatedly "And then," he said, his tail finally stopping its movement as he looked at everyone in the room, "It kills the subject by sheer weight of empathy. It usually takes another closely bonded to the subject getting neutralized at the same time the subject is under the influence to cause this... The mind brings the images received into it in a sharper focus, due to the drug's influence, which also causes the emotion centers of the brain to take what it's being given and magnify it nearly a hundred fold. It causes the death by overloading those centers and causing what the subject sees to echo and magnify in a cycle. Buron believed that Vorak used it because it was a good way to neutralize more of those who were a threat. Are there any samples that I can look at to ascertain whether The Scourge played a part in it?"

Slowly, Valoda indicated the samples that were sitting on her desk, and Drenog looked at them with a careful eye, only stopping to ask, "Was the Ichthizine administered to these?"  
Yes," said Valoda gravely, "As you know quite well, Drenog, there should not be this much contamination in a containment field."

"Ah," said Drenog, "The other telltale we noticed. Whether the tissues were in a containment field or not, they were contaminated. Pouring Ichtizine over tissues not affected with the drug left them uncontaminated, especially since it has a tendency to evaporate quickly and thus, evacuate from the samples. In this case, since The Scourge was administered some hours before her death and Ichtizine acts on its traces, someone had to have administered it, discretely or not."  
Queen Vandai knew that the medical staff were handpicked by Valoda and that she'd rather endanger herself than choose questionable people to fill those positions. So how did this get administered? she asked herself.  
Replaying the events of the horrible diurnal period only brought up one thing. "Ultrazinium," she said, thumping her tail on the floor, "What color is it, Voloda?"  
"I noted that that was in the report that was given. Good call for Karok...But Ultrazinium is blue, isn't it?"

Generally, it is blue," said Voloda, "The question becomes, who administered it, and what color was it. Anybody should know that it is rather volatile when mixed with other drugs, and considering that it's supposed to be a stabilizer..." Her ice blue eyes became more like storm gray as the ramifications became clear to her. She had remembered studying it at the University of Medical Practice, how it would even change color if one so much as added a drop of another drug to it.

"From the report I have here," said Queen Vandai imperiously, "It was you, Karok who administered the ultrazinium. What color was it when you did that, pray tell? The report I have here said that it was amber, am I correct?"

"No. It was blue," said Karok unabashedly, flicking the end of his long tail scornfully. "as you just said, ultrazinium is always blue."

"Karok," Vandai chittered in the middle of a deep sigh, "You forget that one of my advisors saw the whole thing." At this point, she tapped a device on her desk with an angry forepaw. "I know that the color was amber. Why was it amber, Karok? Why?"

Soon Queen's Advisor Dremelia Yellow Designation came into the queen's living chamber at a run, curtsied, and chittered her customary, "How may I be of service, Queen Vandai?"

"Tell me," Queen Vandai said,  
"The color of the Ultrazinium that Anara was given on the day of her death. I apologize for having to ask about this since you were friends after a fashion, but this needs to be divulged so that we can continue our investigation. As humans would say, It stinks to high heaven and low hell. So in short, what was the color of the ultrazinium she was given."

"It was an amber color. bright amber as a matter of fact. I don't know much about medical knowledge, but I had the passing thought that something wasn't right. But I didn't know what to ask."

"not to doubt you, Dremelia, for we have worked together many orbits, but I should conduct a mindmorph to satisfy myself that you haven't been influenced. Are you compliant?"

"Yes," said Dremelia gravely, "I know the truth of my answers, and there would be nothing in my mind that would belie my statements, Queen Vandai.

"thank you. You understand that I prefer to ensure that there is no contamination of information here," she said, as she placed her head next to Dremelia Yellow Designation's. Her breathing became even and slow as she entered the mind of her advisor. Time seemed to stretch as Queen Vandai verified the information that she had given earlier. She straightened to her full height once again, and her and and her advisor relaxed.

The Pyrian queen seated herself behind her desk, placing her forepaws upon it. "The information that was given to me by my advisor corroborates my mindmorph with her. She has not been tampered with or influenced. I do not like the appearance of questioning her integrity but with recent events playing out as they have, we all must be on our guard."

"Understandable, said Dremelia, as both embraced in the customary way, with front forepaws and tails.

"However, this introduces a problem," said Vandai in a dangerous chitter that left no doubt of its menace to its intended recipient. "It is time that a more intensive mindmorph be performed upon you as well, and we will test your integrity. You have wilfully lied to me as well as all present, and a mindmorph detects the truth, and only the truth." With another angry tap to another device on her desk, her guards came in quickly. "You will not be allowed to leave until questions have been answered. I will ask and you will respond." Angrily she motioned for guards to restrain him on both sides, and placed her forehead to his. Though he struggled ineffectually against her mind and against the strength of the guards holding him, she began to breathe deeply and slowly once more.

"What was the substance that was put in the ultrazinium you administered to Anara after she blacked out?" chittered the queen wrathfully.

Karok, who had gone blank started to chitter in a monotone way. "It was The Scourge," said Karok. "I was commissioned by War Commander Vorak as a part of our undercover operation to administer it to Anara with the ultrazinium. We were informed that Anara along with her meddling mate needed to be dispensed with, so a plan was put into place to do so. It took much research and diversions, but it was finally accomplished, not without a lot of trouble. However, I will be brought into place as one of high rank among the Shalka."

Vandai's storm gray eyes tore through Karok, who was in such a deep trance that he seemed to remain unaffected. "You shall not escape. I have more questions to ask you, and since you have proven yourself guilty by virtue of the results of a mindmorph, your sentence will be visited upon you. If you didn't have a glimpse into Anara's mind with the express purpose of providing assistance, what was your purpose?"

"My purpose was to ensure that The Scourge was taking full control," Karok said rapturously, "And since I was informed that Ultrazinium and The Scourge combine to make a more powerful compound, that is what I did. My first experiment has become a success. War Commander Vorak is pleased."

"You despicable bastard!" Queen Vandai chittered, slowly but menacingly, anger radiating from her being. "You may think it's desirous to commit these unspeakable acts, but it is not. You shall be sentenced to death. We believe in this tenet, which you seem to have forgotten. When a life is taken, the one responsible must forfeit his in recompense. Guards, get him out of my sight. I don't wish him to corrupt Pyrian soil any longer than he must."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 2

At About the same time Karok's trial was commencing and he tried to lie to the court, a different conflict was going on. It took longer for the keeper of Justice to confer with the common court and to confer the death sentence they all wanted for Karok on him. It took much longer in fact. Sutar Golden Designation, who had been with Anara as well for thirty of the fifty orbits she'd been with Buron, was taking care of Anara's young as she had promised on the day of her death, even after trying and failing numerous times to answer their questions of why they couldn't sense either of them anymore. It was too hard to make her thoughts jump into the right categories to try to answer their questions. Even Lyra Golden Designation had popped in once or twice to try to talk to her, but it was too much. She'd start to speak, and her own grief would immobilize her to such a point where speaking had not been an option. She had heard about an investigation, but so had Lyra who had finally gotten so perturbed with the whole situation that she finally chittered angrily, "Anara wouldn't have just faded out on us. Yes I suppose this could occur, but it was not like her. We have lost Others because of the Shalka, others because of the civil war that happened after the Shalka attacked for the first time. My nestmother was close to these people too. It just doesn't fit." Lyra's tail thumped down on the stone floor of the domicile as she failed to get to the heart of the thing that didn't make sense to her.

"The same bothers me, Lyra," Sutar said, "There's something wrong, damn wrong. I've requested an audience with the queen concerning this. I normally wouldn't resort to this kind of action, for she is busy after the warnings we've received and after some of the strange occurrences on these last few diurnal periods. Hell, being in the military has told me we're" Her facial features screwed up for a moment. "I believe the correct human term in this instance is up Shit Creek without a paddle, or, maybe even better, Without a pot to piss in. Anyway, reports I've been getting are rather on the serious side.

Lyra found it rather amusing that Sutar still managed to collect and use every human swear word she knew about, even more fluently the last few diurnal periods. "the Sutar feels we are going to have more problems with the Shalka now that... Well" She rushed on, "Now that they dispatched a couple of key officers. the Sutar says we should always be on guard and watch for anything strange or foreboding."

Lyra sighed and a small shudder passed through her, not of her own volition. It had been so many orbits, but she still remembered the nocturnal period that she couldn't forget, the nocturnal period from the depths of the pits of torment. She had left the domicile so that she might get a breath of air and catch herself one of the bison-like life forms that grazed in the general area. She was loping to where she saw a herd of them. However, when she had caught one, and was devouring it, she was roughly shoved away from her prize with blood running down her mouth and chin. She stared up into the obsidian, silver-flecked eyes of the biggest, ugliest, most savage Shalka brute she had ever laid eyes upon. In that same rough chitter she heard only a few diurnal periods ago, he had told her to be quiet, or she would never see her family unit again. She had struggled like that bison, however, he had roughly placed a cloth over her mouth and nose, and she had come to in a rough-looking...what was it? workshop?operating room? But then she had heard the thrumming underneath her which only meant one thing. She had been put aboard a Shalka warship, and she'd be fucked if she knew if she would see her family unit again, considering her circumstances. She had slipped into blessed unconsciousness, but woke up only to find that she had greasy, bloody bandages on her head and felt groggy...Had she been drugged? And there was that Shalka warrior once again. It had been at that moment she had wanted to hide, wanted to find a way out of that cursed place. She looked on her person for her translator, but it was not there. Then she heard the ominous laugh above her.

"Oh no, miss Military. You are not going to leave on your volition. No beaconing out of here for you. I am War Commander Vorak and I believe I will get to know you rather intimately, at least your mind anyway. We are restructuring your brain so that I can give you commands and you cannot resist. And if you do, the pain will be exquisite, I assure you. And don't think to call anyone with that mind of yours, because they won't be able to hear you and you shall receive more of that pain. Is that understood?"

A few pieces of a puzzle had clicked for Lyra, as she realized that this was the one who was the brains of a lot of the incidents involving Pyrian Homeworld.

It was then that Lyra burst out, "Now I know! You were the one responsible for the murder of the queen's entire cabinet-"

But that's when the pain had torn through her system like a jackknife. That's when she realized she would not be seeing her nestmother or nestfather again, or her nestbrothers and nestsisters. Buron had always been firm but yet loving, supportive, and a whole lot of stubborn too. There had been disagreements aplenty the last three orbits or so, but it never lead to anything, and there had always been peaceful compromise and love to heal those. Lyra knew why they were happening. They both had a desire to protect their family unit, but they had different views on the matter. Buron was more drastic and forceful. Anara, while still forceful, always seemed to have other plans in case Buron's didn't work, and he didn't always agree with her assertions. But they had made most of their plans together which had been mostly successful. And he had taught her everything she needed to know to enter the Pyrian Military. The day she had graduated from the Military Academy had been a proud day for both of her nestparents.

But now, it appeared that she would never be going back, and all because she had a taste for the bison-like life forms that nocturnal cycle.

She had been wrong. She was released a few diurnal periods later, and after the events to follow, many of which she didn't remember, she had been told by her nestparents that they had been worried sick enough to do sector sweeps far and wide, request an audience with Queen Vandai, in which they requested that Pyrian Majesty defense cruisers be deployed to do even wider sector sweeps. What they had not known was that the Shalka had gone to ground on a cloaked moon on the Navian system, but, not being allowed to leave the ship, she had never known where.

then, soon after she had come back to their domicile, she was seen outside the chamber of the assistant to the Chief of Justice. the Chief had seen her himself, outside the assistant's office, and looked inside that office to see his body flame-charred. All efforts to bring him back from the brink had failed and it was ruled as murder. At her trial, Lyra had confessed not remembering the incident and had been marked as a disgraced Pyrian with those awful white scales. But Buron, a master of the craft of mindmorph, had seen her sorrow at this and that she didn't move to escape her fate, and how she stayed, after this, in desolate places away from populated areas. No matter how the pain had driven her to her knees, she wouldn't obey the rough chitter in her mind. It had sometimes rendered her unconscious, which she felt was better anyway. An hour she spent unconscious was an hour she didn't spend hurting members of her race. But her nestfather had found her, and no matter how much she struggled in her pain and shock, he gently restrained her, and introduced his own mind into the pandemonium in hers, finding the blocks and the mental gateway that Vorak had placed there. He had his supply kit with him, and had tranquilized her until he could get her to the mental specialists, who had mostly removed all the tampering the Shalka had done with her mind. When Lyra had been safe, he had also presented his own evidence to the court, who had exonerated her. She had looked down in wonder to see that she was once again arrayed in golden scales, not white. He had come to the room in the infirmary where she was, and gently told her what had happened. That's when she realized that she was free, freer than she had felt for the last sevenday, freer than she felt she had any right to be. Oh it was good to be back in touch with those who loved her and that she loved in return. She didn't even bother to ask if she was reinstated into the military until Commander Buron had held out her medal of rank. She was an ensign still, but she didn't care. It was then that he had looked into her eyes, and said somewhat sternly, "Now, I have some advice for you. The next time you are hungry or need a bit of air, wake one of us. It isn't worth going through what you went through again for a damnable kapok. And watch everything. Always stay on guard, wherever you are, even if it is when you're using the water-driven privy. We should not have to do this, but the Shalka make this necessary, as I'm sure you know." He had given her a helpful forepaw up, and though Lyra felt wobbly, she felt better than she had. Oro, her destined-to-be lifemate was worried sick to, and had rushed in, repeatedly asking about her status. He had been told about recent events and insisted on staying with her and her nestfamily in the domicile. Permission was granted on one condition, that he helped by carrying out the duties other members of the family had to carry out. He still loved his nestfamily, so he visited them frequently while Lyra had been on assignment.

there were some times in which Lyra wondered, in the blackness of her guilt and misery, if her mind had been totally clean though. She had checked herself in several times to the Clinic for Mental Ailments and had asked her to scan her mind for any damage. She had come out clean, mostly to her surprise, but she knew it must be there, lurking in the corners, for she could swear she never felt the same after all that had happened. She had been told by one of the healing technicians that she could never expect to feel the same after that ordeal.

Standing with Sutar now, she wanted to be in on that audience as well. She wanted answers, and she wanted them as soon as they could be found. She had seen the awful events of that diurnal period too, and was urged to be with Oro and given a bit of leave, but that was all that happened. She was back after the murder? of Anara. Yes, it had to be murder.

"Sutar, would you please ask Queen Vandai if I am allowed to be there on your audience with the queen? I'd like to know what she thinks of the matter. to use another idiom, "Something seems to stink."

"the Sutar agrees," Sutar said finally, and looked down at her com device just in time for it to chime and the pictographic memorandum system to show Queen Vandai on the small screen.

"You are invited to come into my audience chamber," she said warmly. "Do you have any questions before we proceed?"

"Yes," said Sutar, "Anara's daughter Lyra would like to sit in on this audience. Would there be a problem with this?"

Queen Vandai shuffled a couple things on her desk, looked up and smiled. "That will be fine, as she was Anara's daughter. Meet me in Audience Chamber Beta. I believe I have some answers for the both of you."

the comm unit clicked off, and they headed to the palatial headquarters of the queen. Sutar only was here on three other instances, but was always amazed by the beauty of the place. Statues lined the walls, interspersed with long, tapered pillars bearing key objects belonging to other past queens and sacred objects that were important because they reminded them of the duties to the Pyrian gods and goddesses they worshipped. She prayed to the goddess of Justice, Vidrith, now. Sutar and Lyra wanted answers and she'd do anything within reason to get them, no matter how painful they were. The floor was made of the best marble found on Pyrian Homeworld and was inlaid of rolling hills so realistic that Sutar thought she must be climbing up them. She and Lyra walked up the staircase that led to the Halls of Audience, lined with chambers where she took audiences, and well-armed guards.

One of the guards motioned her into Chamber Beta, wished her luck, and told her that Queen Vandai would be with her in a moment and to "please have a seat."

After a few units had passed by with the queen engrossed in a data pad in front of her, she looked up and smiled, though it seemed a bit strained to Sutar's mind.

After being invited to take refreshment, she gravely got down to the reason for the audience. They confided their suspicions about Buron and Anara's death being somewhat convenient, a little nervously, Queen Vandai noticed. At this, she looked them full in the eyes and said sternly, "You will share this with not a soul right now. If you do, there will be consequences. We cannot have this information out at the present, until we have conducted our investigation and are confident that every detail has been gathered. Do you agree before we go on?"

"The Sutar will keep the information and bear it to the mounds without telling a soul if she must," Sutar said solemnly.

"I will not reveal this to anybody. I will keep this confidential," Lyra said just as solemnly.

"Now that this is understood, I will tell you what you wish to know," and referencing a data pad and pulling out a long tube after unlocking a strongbox, she said, "Buron was only a means to an end for Anara's death. I will disclose to you why. She died because Karok, a coward who was working for the Shalka, had spiked the Ultrazinium she was given after Buron's death with a little of this!" The last word being spoken with utmost venom, indicating the small, thin tube. "This, my friends, is a drug called the Scourge," she said more gently but somehow more humorlessly, "Your father," she said, indicating Lyra with a definite motion of her forepaw, had been doing undercover work to expose its operation and uses and possibly an antidote for it. It acts like a poison, a mental poison, and acts on empathy. In this case, it took Buron's death, since he was closely bonded to Anara, to produce that kind of empathy since she witnessed those events through her mental connection to him. We are currently doing research on this, and so are the members of the science department" she said, after locking the little tube back up in the strongbox with a satisfying click.

Shock reigned between Sutar and Lyra, who stood there with not a word they could say. They both wanted to be wrong, but they had been right all along. Then the tears came, almost simultaneously from both of them. But they cut them off as soon as they could, especially Sutar, who, even though a part of her had died with Anara and Buron, especially now. Lyra replaced her desolate expression almost as quickly, though tears wouldn't stop for her just yet, but her expression turned deadly.

How close is the Science Department to developing an antidote," she chittered in a tone devoid of emotion, finally damning the rest of her sorrow and resurging guilt.

"it is taking a long time to isolate the ingredients so we can come up with such an antidote, but both of you have the right to know when it has been developed. In fact, I will tell you both personally. I know it is too late, but it is the least we can do."

"The Sutar has a theory about this. The Sutar believes they were murdered because Buron was doing undercover surveillance on the ones who created The Scourge and was trying to find a way to catch them dead to rights and make their compound useless."

"My advisors and I surmise so anyway. So does the new tactical commander, Commander Tolar Red Designation. He says that his feet do not fit the shoes of his predecessor, for they are very big, but Commander Buron handpicked him to be his successor in the event things went sour." She smiled humorlessly for a moment. "I do not know if he knew they would. They just did."

Sutar stood there for a moment, feeling stunned. She didn't want to believe what her mind was telling her, but it was. She didn't want to be right, but she had, and so had Lyra.

She remembered little of the rest of the audience, but they were dismissed to carry on the rest of their duties. It was little joy that Sutar had been Promoted to fleet general as well, and had given responsibilities she had worked so hard to carry out.

When they were about to leave, the rather insistent door chime alerted both of them. The Pyrian queen leaped to her feet and ran to answer it. It was Peldra Ocean Blue Designation, coming through at a run. "Queen Vandai, I hate to be so abrupt but Karok escaped. The military have been informed as well."

Sutar's emerald eyes were fire. "and how did that happen?" she asked without thinking. "I heard he was sentenced. That is all the Sutar knows," she amended, lowering her head with an apologetic look at the queen.

"She tapped at a device perfunctorily with her forepaw, and chittered in that dangerous way she had, "Guards! Scatter and look for him. Sutar, inform the captains of my defense cruisers to do the same. He must be apprehended. that is an order."

"Yes, Queen Vandai," she chittered, as she scurried through the door and through the palace, comming her orders directly from Queen Vandai herself to the captains of the defense cruisers.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 3

Fleet General Sutar sat in the lead cruiser, staring at the viewscreen and the data contained on it. Goddammit, she had to find the fugitive, Karok, who was now disgraced. She peered at the schematics of the surrounding star systems with a sharp eye. No heat signature existed that told of a cloaked ship. There was nothing of him being on that godforsaken moon. Since she had downloaded his personal life signature and uploaded it to the computers of all twenty cruisers, they were reporting back with the same information. Checking the Pyrian homeworld had netted them nothing either. Goddess curse it, she wasn't going to have this renegade running around, causing more trouble and leaving more death in his wake. At the moment she was going to command the other cruisers to patrol in Formation Beta to take another circuit around the neighboring systems, her alarm chime pinged and Queen Vandai's personal magnopictoform, two swords converging with two energy fields, flashed on the screen. Queen Vandai was there, but hunched over, her golden scales turning that unhealthy bronzish hue.

Quick, Vandai," said Sutar without even taking a moment to find out everything first, as she knew there must be something terrible afoot. Vandai herself seemed paralyzed, with an expression of utmost fear on her face. "Oh hell, Vandai, what are you seeing?" asked Sutar. Someone was there, most likely Voloda, doing a quick mindmorph and taking readings. Voloda said quickly, "Queen Vandai's nestsister, Kerisha! In that black cave on that godforsaken moon, Koroku."

No. She wouldn't let it happen this way again. Voloda, for God Sake get the antidote you're working on what stage is it in?"

"the final stages, not ready for release." said Voloda, pulling away from her Majesty and looking at the com unit.

"Then for Goddess Sake, go and get it. There's no fucking time. I apologize for showing what you might fear to be disrespect but if you care about your Royal Highness's person, give your feet wings and go get it and inject her. The Sutar must take the royal fleet down to that moon and rescue her nestsister."

Voloda vacillated. "But... it's not ready."

"Now, Voloda!" Sutar barked in the most definite of tones, "Or Queen Vandai will terminate. If the Sutar guesses right, she has been given the Scourge. Do it!"

Voloda ran out of that room like her ass was on fire and War Commander Vorak was on her heels. She came back with the vial. She injected it into her Majesty who turned pale with the shock of the effects of the substance being injected into her. "Now I must go. Stay with her and the Sutar must rescue her nestsister. Give me a report when I get back...no, if I get back, but private com it."

the comm unit clicked off, and Sutar told the fleet to jump to the galactic coordinates of the moon.

"Now cloak! That's the best we can do, and hide behind that comet before we are found out. I must beacon now."

Sutar quickly evaluated her most important weapons and decided her plan of action even faster. She beaconed to that planet, feeling scared for the queen's nestsister, Kerisha Golden Designation. She took the same path Anara had taken all those moons ago, head butted War Commander Vorak in the stomach before he was going to stick some kind of wicked-looking three-bladed knife into Kerisha, and with a strength she didn't know she had, bodily hauled her out of the cave, Vorak hot on her heels. She entered a few commands into her translator and they were out. She told the head cruiser to head to Pyrian homeworld ASAP and it did as she ordered, as it always did. Thank the Goddess! Sutar whispered prayerfully as she finally hit the override switch and gently landed it on Pyrian homeworld for the time being. Still carrying Kerisha, she barreled into the queen's chambers, seeing the queen alert and being attended to by her maidens in waiting.

"Oh my Goddess! You have her! Sutar, you are a marvel! How did you do it!" Queen Vandai asked wonderingly and a little breathlessly too.

"Well, there is something to be said for placing beacons well," said Sutar, not knowing what to say when Queeny bestowed such a compliment. "But the Sutar placed a beacon on that moon the last time she was imprisoned there, and I can get there really really fast. The Sutar wanted to flame Vorak, for many reasons, but the Sutar knew her first priority was ensuring your nestsister's safety. Now how is your status, Queen Vandai?"

"I'm fine now," said the Pyrian queen, "but what happened? I was in soul-splitting agony, and it was just...gone."

"The Sutar had to order Anara's nestsister to go against her inclinations," said Sutar. "The Sutar went on a hunch that the vial of antidote for The Scourge was ready and other vials could be made when and if necessary. And thank the Goddess you're safe, and so is your nestsister."

"this is a goodness," The queen said, "I have a mind of making you an honorary member of my cabinet."

"No," said Sutar solemnly, "The Sutar gets there on her own merits."

"But you have," said Queen Vandai, "You have indeed."

"But the Karok disgrace is still loose, and the Sutar will find him," Sutar said, making Queenie's nestsister comfortable quickly and running out the door. She didn't need Queen Vandai's quick thanks to know that she was more than jubilant.

"I have the criminal!" said Tolar Red Designation as he dragged the worthless piece of vile to the Department for Punishment of Wrongdoers. Hurriedly, dragging Karok to a cell, he slammed him into the cell, keying it to his own signature as it was proper and setting a code. "the filthy disgrace to the Queen and Anara and Buron, rest their souls, will not be able to escape now."

Tolar was good at making very long codes that his charges would never begin to guess, but he remembered them. Sutar knew it would be a cold day in the pits of Hell before any of them would be able to vacate their cells until a trial was set, and it would be set. Even if Anara wasn't here to provide her own azure fire to negate any of Karok's lies, the results of the mindmorph ritual and another one shown to the Council of Witnesses would be sure to verify his guilt. But Sutar would move for a trial in the next revolution, so that this sorry bastard would die the slowest death to be devised.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 4  
The sentence for Karok, the disgraced Pyrian had been carried out a diurnal period later, when the Keeper of Justice found him guilty of treason, giving aid to their enemies and murder. Sutar had gone on a reconnaissance mission nearly ten cycles before the execution sentence was carried out with General Veris of the black designation, the head of the Pyrian Military, to verify what Shalka bases needed taking out next. With cloak on and shields up, and radio silence kept, they stalked through space like the ultimate machine of death in one of the newer firestorms, built by Sutar herself. the Shalka ships that dare patrol that area were neutralized quickly and methodically. Either Sutar or the head of department were back in the engineering section, repairing damage and replacing spent components with spares. It became rather uneventful until they got a transmission on their radio in a cold, rough chitter, "the deed has been done, oh valiant ones." Without any possibility of rebuffing or trying to terminate whatever the one behind the voice on radio claimed was done, The radio crackled once more and clicked off.

"We must get to base now," Sutar said. "I have a very bad feeling that the Shalka are planning, no, have planned, something detrimental to us. Do you concur, general?"

"Yes. Let us jump directly to base. It is time for action on this. We don't want to be too late."

Almost before Veris was done, Sutar jumped the ship to base, landing the ship in emergency mode, with the quick version of safety checks complete. As a result, the ship landed a little more roughly than what was normally expected, but it didn't matter today. They exited the entrance hatch as soon as it opened.

Voloda was looking at some samples, not sure what she was seeing. Some variables made sense, but others, she couldn't make heads or tails of. Trying to find an antidote for Scourge was like trying to find the symptoms for a disease that wasn't supposed to exist. She had separated the important substances into their own beaker but others were too indistinguishable. It was getting late, she decided. She'd do this tomorrow, when she could gather her thoughts a little easier. She gathered all the supplies she had been working with, and locked them into their own secure uncontaminated compartment. She looked outside her office. Nothing was wrong or suspicious. Good, she thought. Considering that there had been a lot of new appointees in the science department, some of which she didn't trust, she really had to be on her guard. She scuttled through the science department, chittering a greeting to those she knew and some she didn't, watching the expressions of the latter very carefully. She left the science department, intending to visit the young of Anara before going to her own domicile. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, it seemed, a shadowy form approached her. She tried to run, but she wasn't quick enough. Something was being injected into the muscle on her arm. And all hell broke loose in her mind. Disjointed thoughts, feelings and visions invaded her mind from that diurnal period that Anara and Buron had died.

"this is the next most powerful dose of ultrazynium available. I have calibrated its release so that it will not cause her to come out of her unconsciousness too quickly. I am afraid this means she will not be able to act to save him from what I fear may be his fatal destiny."

Holy hell! That was Karok! And no, that wasn't Ultrazinium. Part of it was, but part of it wasn't. She tried to shout an alarm but realized she was seeing this from another time.

Voices assaulted her, telling her how Buron was dying. She tried to silence them, but to no effect. the empathy was driving her crazy. Surely this must be what it was like to be injected with the scourge. She realized too, that sometime in the three? five? cycles this had happened she had fallen to her side. Then, a gout of flame which was extinguished quickly, with her sister trying to inform those present that that wasn't supposed to happen. Then her presence of mind, or absence of it seemed to shift, and she was on a planet? moon? in some kind of cavern with a weird platform in front lit by luminous plant life which glowed an unhealthy green color. Without warning, the black eyes with silver shards that Voloda had only seen on two other occasions came into sharper focus. "Someone please stop this nightmare, Voloda thought in the deepest reaches of her mind, which even now must be surrendering to this darkness. Even so, the leering face was coming closer. War Commander Vorak's raspy chitter rang through the gloom:  
Also, you might want to know that your mate is also due to stand her own trial before she attempts to be a witness in the trial of anyone else. However, I will not disclose to you how, but there will not be a single soul who will watch over and guarantee the safety of your young."

Fuck! She was seeing it all again, just as Anara had. She tried to stop it, tried to school her mind, but it would not turn off. And what looked like a blanket of pure darkness was encroaching on her. Then she saw the rest of it, no matter how she tried to stop it. Buron had fought to be free of him, but it had been no damn use. She said goodbye to all her friends, her colleagues, those who had been working with her for the last seventy orbits. At least she'd be meeting Anara soon, and maybe then she could explain why she couldn't save her. Hopefully...

"Shit! The Sutar knew we would be too late!" Sutar said as she saw Voloda's limp form on the path leading to the domiciles. She paged the medical department and got Drenog. "The Sutar needs someone outside the domiciles and hurry. And bring the life-giving device."

She clicked off, and tried the only thing she could think of at the time. Then she saw the injection site. Drenog was on his way, she knew, and just as she thought this, he came darting into view, with a number of devices hanging from his belt. Then he saw the same thing Sutar did, the injection site.

"Sutar, did you see this? We need a blood sample so we know what did this to Voloda, for I suspect this is what has happened. Sutar, You do that while I attempt to bring her back."

Sutar only knew the basic medical procedures it was her job to know, but she received the equipment and drew a small sample of Voloda's blood. Drenog put an identification device in the sample and examined the readout. All the right components were in the blood, and it wasn't showing anything else. Drenog's expression grew ominous, and he introduced ichthizine gas into the sample. Sure enough, another component was detected. When he saw "Dyosine present. Immediate action is required" in flashing pictographs on the screen, he continued even more relentlessly to try to bring her back, but there was no response.

"Damn!" said Drenog, whose scales became a blotchy darker green. "We are too late. She's been hit with The Scourge."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter five

Emerald eyes narrowed as Sutar paced around her domicile, the one she used to share with her bloodmate, her lifemate. Anara's young were resting now, unaware of the past diurnal period's events, Sutar knew she had to tell them about Voloda, she was their aunt after all, but at that moment Sutar didn't have the strength to. Turning Sutar let out a soft snarl, slamming her claws into the nearest wall, feeling little sympathy for the stone wall, or the fact she had just slammed her paw through it. There was only two things left that she felt, anger, at herself, at Vorak, at everyone. Fear, for her own nest sister, for her only other friend who was becoming more than just a friend. fear for Anara's young who were no longer innocent as they used to be. Sutar lowered her head all the fight suddenly leaving her feeling far older than she was. Sutar crawled into a soft hollow log she had found orbits ago, wanting to shut out the world, but at the same time hating the feeling of being alone, Kiara wasn't due to come over that night, and Sutar's own nest sister Sukina golden designation was busy working on a report for that evening's holocast although the usually hyperactive Suki was herself looking slightly less gold then usual. "Things aren't going well, not at all." Sutar sighed and laid her head on her front paws, pulling her tail into the log with her and felt herself slip away into the realm of dreams, where she once again felt that same warm presence she felt the day of Anara's burial, almost as if someone, possibly Anara herself was still watching her from somewhere, somehow. Sutar let dreams comfort her for a little while, because it was all the comfort she had for the time.

It was only a short time later when Sutar jolted awake to a furious pounding on the door. wriggling out of her log Sutar took a step towards the door but before she could reach it it crashed open, and a furious flaming Lyra stood there her teeth bared.

"Dunar's been taken!"

Sutar ducked as a jet of flame flew towards her as she sputtered, "What?"

"God damn it you heard me, Anara's son, my baby brother's been captured by Vorak!"

Lyra dove towards Sutar and aimed a slash at the stronger pyrian, "You promised mom you'd watch them! and you didn't, now look."

"Lyra, I'm doing everything I can to stop this!"

Sutar made to push Lyra away knowing an angry pyrian needed to fight stuff out, and they couldn't be reasoned with. Sutar blocked several claw strikes only to receive a face full of flame for it. opening her mouth she absorbed Lyra's flame and caught sight of two others in the doorway. Oro dove into the room and raped himself around his mate and Suki slipped in to give Sutar a paw up.

"  
The Suki tried to stop her before she could get here. you weren't supposed to find out like this Sutar one."

Sutar shook off, getting dust and grit off of her as she straightened. A loud beeping came from her translator on a low tree stump, "Good boy you knew to prod the Sutar. your nest mother would be proud. this tells us just what we need!"

Grabbing her translator and a small chip Sutar pressed a few buttons sending out a signal to the military troops that were around, and to Vandai as well, "Dunar's been kidnapped, again. the Sutar is going for him. everyone stand ready for the Sutar's signal. You will hear from the Sutar in a few hours. if not. The Sutar has the coords of the moon Vorak makes his base on, the Sutar got them when she patched her translator to pike up Dunar's prod. if you don't hear from the Sutar in 3 hours. blow that moon to hell and back!"

Vanishing following the prodding from Dunar golden designation Sutar landed crouched to see Dunar in the claws of 2 big burly shalka guards. snarling softly Sutar quickly slammed her claws into their chests tearing their hearts out letting the young pyrian fall to the ground. Turning with him Sutar bolted as she hissed, "Go home little one, the Sutar will be right behind you, but she has to do something first, go home your sister's there."

Dunar glanced up at her before activating his translator and beaconing home. Slipping into the shadows Sutar placed a small chip that would allow for the transport of many at once to a specified place. pouring a vial of one of the military's last creations on it Sutar nodded as the dim silver disc sparked gold and expanded slightly. Straightening Sutar turned only to see something big and heavy coming towards her. Blackness was almost instant and Sutar fell with a hard bone jarring thump.

Sutar awoke to find herself bound and being held between two burly guards. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed many glowing plants rimming a rather large platform and Sutar felt a knot of fear settle in her belly. Sutar snarled. She had seen these glowing plants before, in a memory of a memory, and she wouldn't stand for what she knew was about to happen. Vorak had done his bastardized ritual of revealing and that was what killed her bond brother moons ago, leading to the death of one of her lifemates. Anara's death wouldn't be in vain. and there was still one who needed her. Sutar snarled and tugged at the bindings on her wrists she had gotten stronger since the first time Vorak had her. spinning she jabbed her forepaws into the nearest's guard's soft underbelly and yanked up tearing out shattered ribs, and spinning slammed the dying bruit into the other guard. A lance of pain sent her to her knees and Vorak's fangs snapped inches from her throat, Rolling away Sutar cursed softly, she hadn't seen him behind her, hadn't sensed him either... Tilting her head back Sutar rolled with it, lashing out with her feet, her claws tearing a gouge into his off white disgraced hide. spinning on her back Sutar lashed out with tail and claws sending the other guards sprawling. scooping up her translator from where it had fallen hours before she pressed a quick beacon call and she was gone in a flash of red light.

Suki Golden designation, her own nest sister, and her other bonded, Kiara golden designation leapt to their feet as Sutar entered the domicile.

"No time, the Sutar knows where Vorak is and we have the chance to end him for everything that he's done. to us, to our friends."

leaving a faint tracer beacon to her location Sutar turned and sent several mental messages to the force she had standing buy,

"General Sutar here, follow me we have a link to Vorak. this ends now."

"I'm going with you!" Queen Vandai's mental message came just before Sutar was to take off.  
"But queen Vandai, This is very dangerous! you would be better protected..."

Vandai cut off Sutar's protest as she spoke, "Five-star general Sutar of the golden designation, That shalka has been causing ruin for many orbits upon orbits. including trying to kill my person as well as my own nest sister. would you deny me the chance for my own revenge?"

Sutar backed down knowing she would probably do the same if she were in Vandai's scales. Pressing a return beacon Sutar as well as several dozen pyrian officers returned to that small moon that had seen so much in the way of pain and death in orbit's past. As the army advanced forward Sutar lingered back The troops fanned out and Vandai herself loosing blasts of golden flame left nothing but oily smears in her wake. Though things were hectic Sutar spared one single thought. "Remind the Sutar to not meet queeny in a back ally somewhere."

Spying her target through the mass of heaving bodies Sutar dove through the pack. as something seemed to tug at her both mind and soul. it took only an instant, but to Sutar it felt like hours, a feeling of peace and strength flowed into her and with a cry of joy and pain, rage and celebration Sutar dove forward, Anara's soul energy lending her feet wings as she wove around the battling shalka and pyrians straight to Vorak. with a powerful forward lunge Sutar had him pressed against a wall and one of her forepaws wrapped around his throat.

"This is for Anara and Buran you bastard!"

swinging her tail around Sutar slammed it into his gut, cutting deep into the underhide.

"This is for violating the Sutar!"

lifting a foot she used her claws to lash him between his legs causing several deep slashes over his unprotected genitals.

"and this is for every single pyrian you've hurt and killed and tormented!"

pulling back her free forepaw Sutar slammed it into his chest and ripped out his still beating heart. knowing there was still a faint glimmer of life left in Vorak's silver flecked obsidian eyes she proceeded to flame the slowing heart. Sutar's flames turned from their usual silver to something she never expected. They were a vivid azure flecked with silver. Vorak's heart turned to ash at the same instant the light died from his eyes.

"Vandai here, General Sutar take some pyrians and get into the air. Vorak's got well I'm not sure what it is but it needs to get out of Navu's orbit.

Sutar clipped the radio to her belt and pulled both Suki and Kiara with her.

"Come on! queeny's orders.

pressing another series of commands into her translator the three found themselves inside Sutar's annihilator Battlefire and airborne. The thing, was a hulking black orb with odd protrusions on it and as the three settled into their weapon stations the orbiting destroyer of worlds began gathering energy from the stars around it. though light years away the nearest stars seemed to dim. Knowing there wasn't much time Sutar pulled a lever and input a quick 3 digit code into the nearest control panel. but she knew it would be too late. as the black thing's energy reached it's peak a massive beam flew towards Navu at the same instant a beam of multi colored energy from Battlefire's emergency weapon annihilated the destroyer of worlds. in the resulting explosion there was an all mighty flash of light and what seemed to be thunder without sound as a massive swirling vortex opened up. the last thing Sutar saw before death claimed her was Navu still shining brightly, The beam having missed the world her home. her friends were safe, her race was finally safe, after orbits of pain and fear it was finally over. Just before battlefire was consumed in a ball of flame Sutar thought she could hear Anara whisper, We'll be together again some how, some day shiny one." an instant later Sutar Suki and Kiara of the golden designation found themselves a blaze in a dimensional rift. Blackness overcame them and they knew no more but burning soul tearing mind shattering pain.


End file.
